India has started the process of building a major ropeway project right next to the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Arunachal Pradesh. The 5.2-km-long ropeway project, to be built at a cost of Rs 522 crore, will be from the world-famous Tawang Monastery to PT Tso Lake and will be developed within the next three years.
The Centre invited a tender in this regard on March 15 and the document has been accessed by News18. The 400-year-old Tawang Monastery, the largest monastery in the country and the second-biggest in Asia, is situated at an elevation of 10,000 feet. It is very close to the China and Bhutan borders, about two kilometres from Tawang Town. The PT Tso Lake is located about 18 km away from Tawang, at an altitude of 12,000 feet. It is a half-an-hour drive by road from Tawang, on the way to the Bumla Pass near LAC.
The new ropeway would mean the ride from the Tawang Monastery to the lake would take just five minutes. There is already one ropeway from the Tawang Monastery to Gyangong Ani Gonpa in Tawang, a nunnery that is situated about 10 km away.
The new ropeway would propel tourism in the region and enable tourists to explore the beautiful areas of Arunachal Pradesh, a senior official told News18.
Development Drive in Arunachal
The Narendra Modi government has been on a development spree in Arunachal Pradesh, with the prime minister recently visiting the state as well.
The PM had dedicated the strategic Sela Tunnel and Donyi Polo airport in Arunachal Pradesh to the nation. The Sela Tunnel project, constructed at a cost of about Rs 825 crore, is an engineering marvel. It will provide all-weather connectivity to Tawang across Sela Pass on the Balipara-Chariduar-Tawang Road in Arunachal Pradesh. The PM, during his visit, had also mentioned work commencing in the Dibang Multipurpose Hydropower Project in Arunachal Pradesh, which will be India’s highest dam. It is being built at a cost of more than Rs 31,875 crore.
China had objected to PM Modi’s recent visit to Arunachal Pradesh but India strongly rejected its latest bid to reassert its territorial claim and stressed that the north-eastern state was and would remain an integral and inalienable part of India.
