Varanasi: The city’s ambitious Rs 800-crore urban transport ropeway project, billed as India’s first such system, is now 95% complete and is likely to be ready by the end of Nov. Once operational, the ropeway will cut the journey from Cantt Railway Station to Godowlia to just 16 minutes for just Rs 50.Uttar Pradesh secretary, planning, and director general, economics and statistics, Raj Shekhar, the nodal officer for Varanasi, inspected the under-construction ropeway on Monday evening along with DM Satyendra Kumar.Shekhar boarded a gondola at Cantt station and travelled up to Godowlia to assess the facilities, progress and operational preparedness. During the inspection, he directed officials to complete the remaining work on mission mode and within the stipulated timeline, while stressing that quality and safety standards must be monitored at every stage before the project is made operational.Once operational, it will whisk passengers from Varanasi Junction railway station (Cantt) to the vicinity of Kashi Vishwanath Temple at Godowlia in just 16 minutes for Rs 50 — less than one third of the over 45 minutes it typically takes by road—offering a faster, greener, more economical and congestion-free alternative in one of India’s busiest pilgrimage cities.Built at a cost of nearly Rs 800 crore, the state-of-the-art ropeway is expected to begin operations around Dev Deepawali, which falls on Nov 24.The ropeway route begins at Varanasi Junction (Cantt Railway Station) and passes through Kashi Vidyapeeth and Rathyatra before terminating at Godowlia. Passengers visiting the Kashi Vishwanath Temple can disembark at Godowlia, from where the shrine is barely 700 metres away.The ropeway will operate with 10-seater gondola cabins, with one cabin arriving at each station every 120 seconds. Covering a distance of 3.85 km, it passes over some of the city’s most densely populated and congested areas and has the capacity to ferry up to 96,000 passengers daily. The fare has been fixed at Rs 10 per station, meaning passengers travelling across all five stations will pay Rs 50.Officials asked to fast-track devpt projects, improve rankingsOn Tuesday, Shekhar chaired a review meeting at the Circuit House auditorium on development works listed on the Chief Minister’s Dashboard. The meeting focused on the effective implementation of welfare schemes, timely achievement of targets, physical progress of development projects, and the grading and ranking of departmental performance.He reviewed projects and schemes placed in the B, C and D categories and asked officials to take personal interest in improving their rankings. Discussions covered the Jal Jeevan Mission (Rural), Family ID, Fifth State Finance Commission works in gram panchayats, Project Alankar, construction of new roads, the Chief Minister Mass Marriage Scheme, Janani Suraksha Yojana, ICDS Poshan Abhiyan and CMIS construction works.He directed officials to prepare a micro-plan for Har Ghar Nal Jal works and complete them on schedule. Monthly data on functional household tap connections under the Jal Jeevan Mission must be updated on the portal, he said. Family ID progress was found to be at 88%, and officials were instructed to ensure 100% coverage.Shekhar also directed officials to ensure timely payments under the Janani Suraksha Yojana, complete preparations for mass marriages, speed up repairs of rain-damaged roads, and prioritise road construction, widening and strengthening works. He asked departments to update physical and financial progress on the CMIS portal and complete ongoing projects by Dec.
