Shivkhori, Shankaracharya temples to get ropeways
The Jammu and Kashmir government is all set to start work for the ropeways for Shivkhori Cave in district Reasi, Shankaracharya temple in Srinagar city, Pahalgam-Baisaran and Baltal-Amarnath Holy Cave.
As per the spokesperson, Chief Secretary, Dr. Arun Kumar Mehta reviewed the modalities for development of ropeway projects.
He called all these projects significant tourist attractions for future for the visitors to these places.
He said that the ropeway projects are eco-friendly and most suitable for such places. He observed that these projects besides being an attraction would be highly beneficial for the devotees and would help in increasing footfall to these religious places.
Dr. Mehta impressed upon the officers that the projects should be in sync with the local culture and associated religious sentiments. He said that these should reflect the religious significance associated with these places besides being a very easy and reliable method of visiting these shrines of great religious importance.
He highlighted that these projects would directly or indirectly create employment opportunities for the local youth. He asked the executing agencies to take into consideration the development of allied facilities like parking lots, food courts, shopping areas, around the boarding stations of these projects.
Chief Secretary was informed that initially two projects for Shivkhori Cave and Shankaracharya Temple would be taken in hand for completion in the coming year. It was further informed that these projects would possibly be dedicated to public around the year 2025.
Both these places are very popular in public and attract lakhs of visitors each year. It was also revealed that on completion of these projects each of the sites would be visited by around 10-20000 pilgrims each day with an annual growth rate of 4% and 2% for Shivkhori Cave and Shankaracharya Temple respectively.
