Chandigarh, February 24, 2023: For pilgrims visiting the famed holy sites of Hemkund Sahib and Kedarnath in north India, there is a double windfall of good news. When the ropeways are operational, it won't take more than 30 minutes to travel between the two locations.

Hemkund Sahib is situated in the Chamoli district of Uttarakhand at a height of 4,632 meters above sea level. Guru Gobind Singh is said to have meditated there. The town of Govind Ghat is around 19 kilometers away from Hemkund Sahib Gurudwara, which is located on the shores of a beautiful glacial lake.

Kedarnath is a sacred shrine of Lord Shiva and one of the four Char Dhams. It is situated in the Rudraprayag district of Uttarakhand at an altitude of 3,583 meters above sea level. Surrounded by majestic snow-capped mountains the temple is accessible by a trek of about 16 km from the town of Gaurikund or by helicopter services. 

Notwithstanding the challenging terrain, several lakhs of pilgrims travel on sacred pilgrimages each year to reach these locations and offer their prayers. Due to the heavy snowfall throughout the winter, the shrines are entirely cut off.

The National Highways Logistics Management Limited (NHLM), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), had floated tenders for the construction of ropeways to both sites so that visitors could travel to these holy shrines throughout the year in comfort and safety while admiring the picturesque mountains through the large glass windows of the cutting-edge gondola or cable car.

For the building of two ropeway projects in Uttarakhand, namely Gaurikund to Kedarnath and Govind Ghat to Hemkund Sahib, G R Infraprojects (GRIL) has come out on top as the lowest bidder. Both projects will be developed in Hybrid Annuity Mode (HAM) and will have to be completed within four years from the appointed date. The destination stations will have a food court and utilities for travelers.

Kedarnath

• Comprising of three ropeways with 4 stations
• Capacity to carry 3600 passengers in an hour.
• Cable cars can carry 35 passengers at a time.
• One day trek to be cut down to 25 mins 

Hemkund Sahib

• Integrated unique single rope & tr-ropes cable car system with 7 stations.
• Capacity to carry 2200 passengers in an hour.
• Cable cars can carry 10-35 passengers at a time.
• Two days trek to be cut down to 30 mins
• Cut short the 24-hour trek to UNESCO World Network of Biosphere Reserves i.e. Indian National Park named ‘Valley of flowers’ to 2 hours only.