Bijli Mahadev ropeway project suspended after manhandling of site personnel: Minister

Shimla: The Union ministry of road transport and highways has informed the Rajya Sabha that work on the Bijli Mahadev ropeway project in Kullu district of Himachal Pradesh was suspended due to protests in July 2025 and "manhandling of the site personnel by local residents".In reply to a question by Rajya Sabha MP Indu Bala Goswami during the ongoing budget session, road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari said personnel at the project site were manhandled by residents.
The minister further stated that local residents demanded that the ropeway project be stopped, citing a threat to the cultural and historical significance and sanctity of the Bijli Mahadev temple.The minister added that the project, with an estimated cost of Rs 272 crore, was awarded on Hybrid Annuity Mode (HAM).It may be mentioned that local residents moved the National Green Tribunal (NGT) against the 2.4-km-long ropeway project. Two petitions — one by the Bijli Mahadev Temple Committee and the other by Kullu resident Nachiketa Sharma — were filed in the NGT, seeking restriction on the National Highways Logistics Management Limited – a central govt agency and a subsidiary of the National Highway Authority of India – from developing the ropeway project.The petitioners maintained that the project would cause environmental destruction in the Bijli Mahadev temple area, a place of pilgrimage considered sacred by the locals.MSID:: 128257315 413 |