Pandemic stalls 3 ropeways in Nashik dist planned to boost religious tourism

Nashik: Three ropeway projects planned in rural Nashik to boost religious tourism here have been stalled by the Covid-19 pandemic, the officials of the state public works department (PWD), Nashik, have said.

Two of the planned ropeways are linked to the Saptashrungi temple in Kalwan taluka — connecting the temple to Naduri in one case and the Markandeya Rishi temple in the other.

The third ropeway is to connect Chandwad taluka's Hatti village to the Dhodap Fort to boost tourism in the rural areas of the district.

“The detailed project report (DPR) for the ropeways was to be prepared after the feasibility report was filed. But because of Covid-19, the DPR process has been stuck,” an officer said.

“The collective project cost is estimated to be Rs 205 crore. This is a very rough estimate prepared by the Indian Rail Port Corporation Limited (IRPCL) that has been assigned the responsibility of making the detailed project report for the three ropeways,” the officer said.

He added that the pandemic has affected the preparation of the detailed project report as well as the spending on the project.

“The detailed project report would have been readied by this time, the lockdown has delayed it. At the same time, the government has also stopped spendings on any new project now. The spending is required on the initial report even if the entire cost is to be borne by a private party bidding for the same. The project will be constructed on build-operate-transfer basis,” the officer said.

He pointed out that the IRPCL has estimated that state government could earn an annual concession fees (AFC) of Rs 354 crore from the two projects at Saptashrungi temple alone over a period of 35 years under the PPP model.

It would require the government to participate with funds to make the third project viable and the revenue-sharing would be on the lower side.