Bhubaneswar, Nov 17: The eagerly anticipated ropeway facility at Nandankanan Zoological Park is set to be inaugurated today by Pradip Kumar Amat, the Minister of Forest, Environment, and Climate Change. However, enthusiasts will need to exercise patience as the official rides on the aerial ropeway are scheduled to commence on Saturday, according to sources.
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Initially, the ropeway will be equipped with four cabins for visitors, with an additional eight cabins slated to be incorporated later on. Once all 12 cabins are installed, the ropeway will be capable of accommodating around 500 people every hour.
The project, which commenced in October 2021, was initiated through a collaboration between Nandankanan Zoo and Damodar Ropeway Infra Limited (DRIL), a Kolkata-based company. The ropeway's construction required an investment of approximately Rs 13 crore, and the stipulated deadline for its operational readiness was set at 18 months.
The ropeway, spanning a distance of 626 meters from the zoo campus to the Botanical Garden, will utilize a mono-cable pulsated with two towers. Each of the 12 cabins is designed to host three to six persons.
The ropeway was introduced in 1994 to ferry passengers from the zoo to the botanical garden passing over the Kanjia lake. It is one among the major attractions for zoo visitors.
