Ropeway planned at Anjandhri Hills in Karnataka's Koppal

KOPPAL: Few sectors have suffered as badly from the Covid-19 crisis and the lockdown it necessitated than the tourism industry. For the ailing industry to rise out of the abyss, the stakeholders need to think out of the box to enhance the experience of visitors, which will help mitigate losses in the future. At the popular pilgrimage site of Anjanadhri Hills in Koppal district, not very far from the world heritage site of Hampi in Ballari, a ropeway is set to be built – the first-of-its-kind in North Karnataka – and in addition to attracting tourists, the structure will save devotees visiting the Lord Anjaneya temple the trouble of having to climb nearly 600 steps to see the deity.
The state government has greenlighted the proposal submitted by the Koppal district administration to build the ropeway, and furthermore, allocated a sum of Rs 20 crore for its completion. The construction of the ropeway is part of the many projects undertaken as part of developing Anjanadhri Hills.
Sources said that around 10 acres had been identified near the Sanskrit Pathashala for the building of the ropeway’s structures. “To avoid delay in acquisition of land, efforts are under way to buy the land directly from the farmers so we can commence work on the project at the earliest. Private companies from Mumbai, Kolkata and other states reportedly participated in a meeting convened by the Koppal administration, and evinced interest in helming the project,” a source said.
Koppal deputy commissioner Suralkar Vikas Kishor said that the district administration was in the process of preparing an action plan for the building of the ropeway at Anjanadhri Hills. “There is also a proposal to build a yatri nivas, interpretation centre and other institutions atop the hill,” Vikas Kishor told TOI.
He said that the action plan would soon be sent to the state government, and work on the ropeway would commence once it was approved. “We will have a clear picture of the way forward only when the government approves the action plan, and we are hopeful of getting the green signal soon. We hope to start work on the ropeway in the next few months,” the DC said.