Rope car operations at Sholingur temple to commence in two months

SHOLINGUR: Arulmigu Lakshminarasimha Swamy temple at Sholingur in Ranipet district is set to get a rope car facility in two months. Trial runs of the long awaited project have been completed.

The rope car will help ferry devotees to the top of the 750 feet hillock. The service will be a boon, especially for the elderly, as it is difficult to climb up the steep hill.

Basic facilities for the benefit of visitors have been completed, sources revealed. “Test runs of the cabins have been completed successfully,” an official said, adding that 5 cabins would move from the base station to the top of the hill and 4 in the return direction simultaneously. “Each cabin will seat 4 persons only,” he added.

At present devotees have to climb up the 1,305 steps to reach the hillock, which is arduous. Aged people and those with infirmities are at present taken on dholies (carriage for transporting people) with the cost ranging between Rs 2000 and Rs 3000 depending on the customers bargaining power,” sources said.

Though the rope car project was first mooted by the then Sholingur AIADMK MLA C Gopal in the 1980s, the project was delayed due to varied reasons.

At present, a team of seven devotees led by Ranipet MLA and Handlooms Minister R Gandhi have pooled in Rs 11 crore to provide the much-needed infrastructure, including waiting halls, toilets and attendant facilities. “However the present rope car ends at the hilltop with devotees having to climb another 20 steps to reach the temple. The Minister insisted that no devotee should walk even this stretch and hence we are planning to provide a lift to cover the last 10 to 15 feet,” an official said.

"RITES will provide the necessary certification for the ropeway project within a fortnight of the opening day being finalized,” the official added.