Here is some good news for all the devotees who wish to visit the Yamunotri shrine. The proposal for the Yamunotri ropeway, which will start from Kharsali village, has received clearance from the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MOEF). The decision got delayed for some years but has now finally received clearance. With this new development, devotees will reach the shrine in just 10 minutes, whereas earlier it otherwise took 5 hours.
Yamunotri Ropeway Receives Clearance From MOEF
The ambitious project of the Yamunotri ropeway that will connect Kharsali village to the Yamunotri shrine will use about 3.8 hectares of land. On this land, the ropeway, which will be 3.7 km long (in terms of aerial distance), will be constructed. The best part about this project is that it will actually cut down your travel time to merely 10 minutes.
A social activist stated that the efforts to build this ropeway had begun way back in 2006. The people of Kharsali village had also given up 1.5 hectares of their land to the tourism department for the same purpose. But even after all these efforts, the project proposal remained stuck in the government’s files for about 16 years.
The Priests And Pilgrims Trekked Their Way To The Shrine
Even today, the priests and pilgrims both have to undergo a trek of about 5 km to reach the holy shrine of Yamunotri. The trek that starts in Jankichatti is a tough one. This is said to be one of the main reasons why people who are not acclimatised to high-altitude conditions develop health issues on their way to the shrine. There have been many casualties reported every year. The Yamunotri ropeway will surely help such people, especially the elderly, reach the shrine safely and in no time.
District Tourism Officer Rahul Chaubey said that as the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MOEF) has given a green signal to this proposal, work will soon begin. He said that the construction might begin this summer and be completed in two years. Yamunotri Temple, which is located in Uttarakhand‘s Uttarkashi district, is the first stop in the Char Dham Yatra pilgrimage.
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