Ropeway at Odisha’s Nandankanan zoo to be operational soon

Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Bhubaneswar, July 29:

The wait for a ropeway ride at the Nandankanan Zoological Park (NZP) on the outskirts of Odisha capital will be over soon as it would be operational by the first quarter of 2018.

The state government today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with a Kolkata-based firm for construction and operation of bi-cable ropeway at NZP on the city outskirts.

According to reports, Damodar Ropeways & Infra Ltd (DRIL) has entered into an agreement with the state government for the ropeway work which would be completed in 18 months.

The authorities had invited tenders in August last year to install, maintain and operate the ropeway at its own cost for carriage of passengers for a license fee for 20 years.

Notably, the ropeway introduced in 1994 was one of the major tourist attractions at the zoo. The Gondola passenger ropeway connecting Botanical Garden over Kanjia Lake at the zoo has been lying defunct since 2011 after an accident as the ropeway snapped midway.

The 680-metre long ropeway used to draw thousands of visitors every year with its private operator charging Rs 30 per passenger when it was operational.