Darjeeling ropeway to restart this weekend

DARJEELING, 7 DEC: The Darjeeling ropeway will begin operations this weekend, according to West Bengal Forest Minister Mr Hiten Burman. The tourist attraction has been closed since 2003, when one of its gondolas slipped from the rope, fell 50 feet, and crashed into the tea bushes 50 feet below, killing four passengers and injuring 11.
The Public Works Department (PWD) has not yet  issued the Ropeway a certificate of fitness, but Mr Burman said the document would soon be issued.
"A PWD member is being sent to inspect the Darjeeling ropeway as after the recent earthquake it had developed some cracks," Mr Burman said. "It might take three or four days for the process to be completed. We have learnt that the cracks have already been fixed, and after that we are also issuing the fitness certificate so that the ropeway can begin functioning like before."
The two-km-long Darjeeling-Rangit Valley ropeway is a joint venture of the West Bengal Forest Development Corporation Ltd and Conveyor and Ropeway Services Pvt Ltd (CRS). It has 12 gondolas that offer views of the hills and valleys around Darjeeling.
CRS director Rachana Mukherjee said: “All the maintenance of the ropeway has been completed and soon we will receive a certificate of fitness as a green light from the PWD and the West Bengal Forest Department and the Darjeeling passenger ropeway will begin functioning on regular basis. The ropeway will be operating only up to Tukvar Valley on the outskirts of Darjeeling, from Darjeeling’s Singamari (North Point)”
-statesman news service