Firm hired to operate Jharkhand ropeway had negligible record of lapses: Jharkhand Tourism Development Corporation

A person hangs on a cable at Trikut Hill after a collision of cable cars, in Deogar district. Pic/PTI

Terming the ropeway accident in Jharkhand's Deoghar district as "rare and unfortunate", the state tourism development corporation said on Tuesday that the company hired to operate the system had negligible record of slip-ups or lapses, and the contract was given to them after a performance assessment.

No official of the Damodar Ropeway and Infra Limited (DRIL), which operated and maintained the ropeway, however, responded to PTI queries.

At least three people died one of injuries and two others due to a botched rescue operation as cable cars of the ropeway system in the district's Manoharpur block collided with each other on Sunday before coming to a halt, leaving around 70 people dangling mid-air.

Alok Prasad, the general manager of Jharkhand tourism development corporation (JTDC), said that the state had maintained the ropeway, constructed by DRIL in 2007 over Tirkut hills, for two years before handing over its operations to the company.

"It was India's only company which had negligible record of untoward incidents. DRIL operates ropeways in around 40 places of India," he said.

"The Tirkut hill ropeway started its operations only in 2009 as it took time to get a technical clearance. For two years, the JTDC ran the ropeway before handing over its operations to DRIL," Prasad stated.

Asked if a backup plan was in place for mishaps, Prasad said, "There is a service rope to rescue people if trolleys get stuck. However, in this incident; the service rope could not be used."

Service rope is an additional cord used for maintenance work. It is also used to rescue passengers with the help of harness in case a cable car gets stuck in between. Operational rope is the one that is used to ferry the cable cars.

In this case, according to Prasad, the service rope could not be used as the operational rope sagged owing to the weight of the stranded cable cars, thus increasing the gap between the two.

Locals in Deoghar claimed that lack of maintenance and overloading of cable cars could have led to the accident.

Vivek Kishor, the block development officer of Manoharpur, when approached, said that families often insist on travelling in a one trolley

"One trolley is not supposed to carry more than four people. If a family of five insists on travelling together, the number may go up. Mostly kids below 10 years board the trolley along with four others," he said.

The JTDC official, on his part, said, "There is a fixed time for system maintenance every day -- from 7 am to 8.30 am. Besides, ropes are changed every three years. Rubber wheels are also changed at regular intervals."

He, however, did not confirm if the maintenance schedule was routinely followed.

According to the Jharkhand Tourism department, the Tirkut ropeway, close to Baba Baidyanath temple, is India's highest vertical ropeway. It is around 766-metres-long.

Chief Minister Hemant Soren said that a high-level inquiry would be initiated in the incident.

"I have directed senior officials to find out the reasons behind the mishap and the list of those who are accountable for the incident. A high-level probe will be conducted in the matter and action will be taken accordingly," he added.

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