Tourism in the region is all set to get a big boost with the governments of Punjab and Himachal Pradesh signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to set up a Ropeway between Sri Anandpur Sahib and Naina Devi.
The MoU signing, which coincided with the 111th birth anniversary of Shaheed Bhagat Singh, took place in the presence of Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh and his Himachal Pradesh counterpart Jai Ram Thakur, by Punjab’s Tourism and Cultural Affairs secretary Vikas Pratap and Himachal’s Tourism additional chief secretary Ram Subhag Singh.
Capt Amarinder welcomed the agreement as a historic move to facilitate pilgrims visiting Sri Anandpur Sahib in Punjab and Naina Devi ji in Himachal Pradesh.
The project would prove to be mutually beneficial for the two states, he said, underlining the need to promote tourism to boost the state’s socio-economic development.
The Chief Minister also stressed on the huge tourism potential in the region saying that it was in the interest of all the states in the region to work collectively to facilitate tourism.
Thakur said that this project should have been completed long ago because of its importance to the two states. Though Himachal had cancelled this project in 2014, he initiated its revival after taking over and Capt Amarinder supported it all through, he said.
He said that this project is a sign of Sikh-Hindu brotherhood, as it links the two historically important shrines of Sri Anandpur Sahib and Mata Naina Devi. He said that 25 lakh tourists visit Naina Devi every year and 80 percent of them are from Punjab.
To be set up in Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode, the ropeway would facilitate lakhs of devotees visiting these two historic and religious sites in a smooth and hassle-free manner.
The two Chief Ministers agreed that the project would ease the travel of devotees visiting the two shrines, which were located quite far from each other, with hilly terrain compounding their problems.
The project, to be executed on PPP mode by setting up a Special Purpose Vehicle, is estimated to cost Rs 250 crore and would cover a distance of 3.5 km.
Three terminal points will be Lower Terminal Point (LTP) will be at Anandpur Sahib, Intermediate Terminal Point (ITP) at Toba and Upper Terminal Point (UTP) at Sri Naina Devi.
Notably, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the Governments of Punjab and Himachal Pradesh to set up the Ropeway between Anandpur Sahib and Naina Devi on July, 26, 2012. However, the MoU was cancelled by the Himachal Pradesh Government on June 3, 2014.
In February, 2018, a letter from Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister was received to revive the project, following which Capt Amarinder conveyed his consent to the hill State.
