This story is from April 14, 2022

Bihar govt to review safety of Rajgir, Banka ropeways

After the Deoghar tragedy, the state government will review its two ropeways in Rajgir and Banka (Manadar Hills), chief secretary Amir Subhani said on Wednesday.
Bihar govt to review safety of Rajgir, Banka ropeways
Centre on Tuesday asked all the states to carry out safety audits of the ropeways and adhere to the BIS standards.
PATNA: After the Deoghar tragedy, the state government will review its two ropeways in Rajgir and Banka (Manadar Hills), chief secretary Amir Subhani said on Wednesday. He said though there is already a system of maintenance of ropeways in the state, they will further review the fitness of the two to ensure that no tragic incident takes place.
The Centre on Tuesday has also asked all the states to carry out safety audits of the ropeways, adhere to the BIS standards and, if need be, take guidance from national highways and infrastructure development corporation.
It has also advised the states to rope in experienced firms for the safety audit.
Bihar State Tourism Development Corporation Limited managing director Prabhakar said both the ropeways were being properly maintained. When asked whether there was any reduction in the footfall after Trikut ropeway incident at Deoghar, he replied, “Not at all. The footfall generally decreases in April compared to January and February, but this is because of the weather.”
Talking about the maintenance procedure followed at the ropeways in Rajgir, an official at the site said they do it on daily, weekly and monthly basis. “Everyday our staff members reach two hours before the scheduled time and check the cabins, rope, motors and tower. After this the electric part is checked and then they submit a verification report before running the ropeways,” he said. Of the total 18 cabins in the eight-seater ropeway, they keep two in reserve for repairing or other work. This ropeway was started in March 2021. Another old ropeway is single-seater with 98 cabins.
The official further said they have a rescue team for any emergency situation. Talking about the footfall at the ropeways in Rajgir, he said from April, average 700 to 1000 people use them per day and even after the Deoghar accident, the number remains the same. However, he said the footfall is more in winter, up to 2000 people in a day.
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