Nod to Anandpur Sahib-Naina Devi ropeway project

Tribune News Service

Shimla, March 20

The Punjab Government has given its consent to revive the long-pending ropeway project between Anandpur Sahib and Naina Devi on the persuasion of the Himachal Government.

Disclosing this here on Tuesday, Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur said he had written a letter to his Punjab counterpart requesting him to take personal interest in reviving the project and a communiqué in this respect from the Punjab Chief Minister was received on Tuesday.

He said the Punjab Chief Minister has directed the Secretary Tourism, Punjab, to finalise all formalities regarding the project.

He said now, a fresh memorandum of understanding (MoU) would be signed to initiate the work in the right earnest.

The Chief Minister said the MoU was signed between the governments of Himachal Pradesh and Punjab for setting up the project on a public private partnership (PPP) mode on July 26, 2012, but the MoU did not come into effect for certain reasons and was scrapped by the previous Congress government.

Now, the state government in accordance with its commitment to give special emphasis on religious and adventure tourism has taken necessary steps in this regard. Thakur said the project would prove a major attraction for pilgrimage and tourists visiting holy towns of Naina Devi in Himachal and Anadpur Sahib in Punjab. He said the project also give boost to tourism activities in the state.