Dear all There are two ways to think. First the area is not easily accessible now as its a long and tough walk. So many people cant walk till the Hemkunt Sahib. If ropeway is there then more people will go up and apparently they would love to walk down. Will the walkway be closed once the ropeway starts? If yes then ropeway is good for normal tourists. But, for researcher like us, hopefully the walkway would be kept open and entry should be based on permission. Secondly, once the ropeway is there then many of the local people will loose their job. There are small dhabas to big hotels, they will loose customers. There is an association of villagers (forgot the name) that works along with the forest department, so they will loose their job too. One of the main reason why VoF is clean is because of the local people who took up this task to keep the area clean. What ever pollution is caused, is caused due to tourists. Mules and pittoos are source of income for the local people, if that is stopped then its not good for poor people of the valley. Of course erection of poles will be needed, but I hope the base of poles will not be that huge to endanger the local flora and fauna. There is such ropeway in HK going to the big buddha. It is very well made and moves over a good forest, but yes there is a path in the valley too, but people are more environment aware than what happens in India. http://www.np360.com.hk/en/cable-car/ I cant reach to a conclusion. Pankaj
On Thursday, 18 October 2012 18:19:11 UTC+8, Rajesh Sachdev wrote: > > Centre approves Hemkunt Sahib ropeway project > > *CHANDIGARH:* For convenience of the pilgrims, the Centre government has > given its approval for ropeway from Gurdwara Gobind Dham to Hemkunt Sahib. > The project will cost around Rs 75 crore and expected to finish in 2014 > before the commencement of Hemkunt Sahib yatra in summers. > > In the first phase of the project, the ropeway will be operational till > Gurdwara Gobind Dham which will be later extended to Gobind Ghat. At > present, the pilgrims can also commute from Gobind Ghat to Gobind Dham > through chopper services which cost Rs 3,500 per person. > > Hemkunt Sahib is one of the most revered places in Sikhism where tenth > Sikh guru, Guru Gobind Singh meditated before his incarnation as the Sikh > guru. Every year, the doors of Hemkunt Sahib open for the Sikh pilgrims on > June 1 who can visit till October 5. > > Later, the Gurdwara is kept closed during the winters as the environmental > conditions are not suitable for human visit and survival as the gurdwara is > located at an altitude of 4,632.96 metres (15,200.0 ft). > > > http://www.punjabnewsline.com/news/Centre-approves-Hemkunt-Sahib-ropeway-project-.html > > -- > Regards > Rajesh Sachdev > https://www.facebook.com/leopardguy > https://www.facebook.com/groups/indianflora/ > > > > --
