The ropeway will be 2.93 kilometres long, have as many as 18 towers and each round trip on the ropeway will take approximately 28 minutes.
Nandi Hills Ropeway Project: On Friday, the state government of Karnataka gave its approval to the ropeway project at Nandi hills worth Rs 93.40 crore under a public private participation (PPP) model. Nandi hills, a well known weekend getaway for Bengaluru people, has become a tourism hub, according to an IE report. The ropeway will be 2.93 kilometres long, have as many as 18 towers and each round trip on the ropeway will take approximately 28 minutes. Also, 50 cabins have been approved by the cabinet, each accommodating a total of 10 passengers, for the ropeway project. State Health Minister and Chikkaballapur MLA K Sudhakar was quoted in the report saying that he is very happy that very soon, the long pending ropeway project will see the light of the day. Nandi hills in Karnataka will turn into an international tourist destination and it will be a significant milestone in Chikkaballapura’s development, Sudhakar further said.
The forest department, however, is not very keen on approving the construction of pillars in the forest as the department believes that it might disrupt the area’s ecosystem. According to a forest department officer, the Nandi hills forest in Karnataka is home to leopards and sloth bears among other animals. The forest department needs to ensure that these animals are not disturbed, the officer further added.
According to sources quoted in the report, one of the major concerns is vehicle density on Nandi hills as more than 3,000 – 5,000 cars visit the well known tourist spot. On weekdays, Nandi hills witnesses a footfall of around 3,000 people and on weekends, it witnesses up to 8,000 footfall of people. Officials further claimed that they have even witnessed more than 10,000 people visiting Nandi hills on certain weekends after the Covid 19-related restrictions were eased by the government.
