New Delhi, Feb 17: To ease the travel for Mata Vaishno Devi shrine yatris, who need to trek 12 km, the Central government has started a ropeway project in Jammu and Kashmir.
Bids opened on Wednesday for the Rs 250 crore, 2.4-km ropeway project consisting of a gondola cable car system.
The shrine is located in the Trikuta Hills, at an altitude of 5200 feet.
Officials said that after completion, the ropeway – starting at Tarakote and finishing at Sanjichat, close to the temple – would decrease the journey to just six minutes for yatris from the current 5 to 6 hours of trekking.
The government expects the project to be completed within 3 years.
The shrine already has a ropeway from the temple in Trikuta Hills to the Bhairon Temple on another hilltop, which was inaugurated two years ago.