Ropeway projects in Andhra Pradesh, Himachal face cost and utility tests

The Story in Brief

Andhra Pradesh’s proposed 3.3-km ropeway linking Vijayawada’s transport hubs with temples and tourist sites is estimated at Rs 750 crore. The Federal reports that planners and infrastructure experts question its value for daily commuters, since the route mainly serves religious and leisure destinations. The project is being pursued through a public-private partnership.

In Himachal Pradesh, the Cabinet rejected the lone bid for Shimla’s proposed 13.79-km ropeway after the estimated cost reportedly rose from Rs 1,734 crore to nearly Rs 2,980 crore, Millennium Post reports. The system, planned with 13 stations and capacity for 3,000 passengers an hour in each direction, was designed to ease congestion and emissions.

The Indian Opinion

The lazy narrative is that every ropeway is either a futuristic traffic cure or an obvious waste. Both claims skip the arithmetic. Vijayawada must show that pilgrims and tourists will use the system enough to justify Rs 750 crore, while Shimla’s rejected bid shows how quickly estimates can shift. Public agencies should publish demand forecasts, fares, maintenance costs and risk-sharing terms before seeking approval. The decisive numbers will be actual daily ridership and the final cost per passenger.

Sources (2): thefederal.com, millenniumpost.in

This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above.

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Rabindranath TagoreGandhiMuhammad Ali JinnahB. R. AmbedkarJawaharlal NehruVinayak Damodar SavarkarSubhas Chandra Bose

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