Launches a 2.3 km long cable car project on Mount Girnar, near the city of Junagadh, an important pilgrimage site
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated three projects in his home state of Gujarat on Saturday, each related to farmer welfare, health care and tourism development, via video conference from New Delhi.
Prime Minister Modi launched the ‘Kisan Suryodaya Yojana’ intended to provide daytime electricity to farmers in the state for agricultural and irrigation purposes. The second project he inaugurated is a pediatric heart hospital at the UN Mehta Institute of Cardiology and Research Center in Ahmedabad, developed with an investment of 470 million rupees by the State Department of Health.
The third project launched by the PM is a 2.3 km long cable car project on Mount Girnar in the city of Junagadh, an important pilgrimage site. The cable car project is touted as the longest temple cable car in Asia. The 2.3 km Girnar cable car has been developed by Usha Breco Limited with an investment of Rs 130 million.
In his speech for the occasion, Modi said: “The world-class cable car will make it convenient for more people to visit Girnar. Before, it used to take five to seven hours to climb the Girnar, but now it will only take seven or eight minutes. More devotees and tourists will visit Girnar. It will give a boost to adventure activities. I am also pleased that the project creates more job opportunities for local youth ”.
The Girnar cable car is a state-of-the-art passenger cable car comprising 25 cabins, including a glass-bottomed cabin, each capable of carrying eight passengers at a time. The cable car will transport 800 people in an hour and 8,000 in a day.
During his online inaugural address, Prime Minister Modi criticized the opposition for the delay in completing the cable car project.
“If they had not created obstacles [the building of the] Girnar cable car, it would not have stagnated in so many years. People and tourists should have benefited it a long time ago, ”he said, adding that the project was not implemented due to controversies related to the environment and other factors.
“As a country, we should think about the loss to the people of the nation when such projects [as the Girnar ropeway] of public importance are stagnant for a long time, ”he added.
On Kisan Suryodaya’s scheme, Modi said: “Farmers should save water and adopt the mantra ‘per drop, more harvest'”. He also emphasized the use of technology in agriculture to boost the production and productivity of farmers.
“Now, as farmers will get electricity during the day, they should also emphasize saving more water,” added the prime minister.
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