Darjeeling Rangeet Valley Ropeway awaits WBFDC go- ahead to resume operation

Darjeeling: Passengers will still have to wait to take the thrilling and picturesque ride on the Darjeeling Rangeet Valley Passenger Ropeway, a major tourist attraction in Darjeeling. The passenger ropeway had suspended operations since April 1, 2018. A final order is awaited from the West Bengal Forest Development Corporation (WBFDC) for the operations to resume. The order is expected to arrive soon. Ropeway Services had suspended operations, with the lease agreement between the Conveyor Ropeway Service Ltd. and West Bengal Forest Development Corporation (WBFDC) expiring on March 31, 2018. "The lease has been renewed for the next five years. We have also got a No Objection Certificate from PWD for the next six months. However, a final order is awaited from WBFDC. Only after that can we start carrying passengers. We are expecting to get the order by the end of this week," stated Mingma Lama, commercial manager.

The ropeway has already conducted successful trial runs and is all set to resume services after the final order arrives from WBFDC. The ropeway runs 12 gondolas along a 2.5km long route between Singamari at 6,500 ft and Vah Tukvar tea garden at an altitude of 6,000 ft. "We had read reports that the services will resume on Sunday but when we arrived we came to know that it is still shut down. We really wanted to take a ride as we have heard that on a sunny day one gets an unparalleled view during the ride," stated Abhirup Naskar, a tourist from Kolkata. Though a major tourist attraction, operations of this ropeway service have been suspended time and again owing to various reasons in the past.

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