100 Years of Ropeway in Nepal
By Purna N. Ranjitkar
Shree 3 Chandra Shamsher, one of the powerful Rana Prime Ministers of Nepal, 1922 started building a 22km long cargo ropeway from Dhorsing -Chisapnai-Chandragiri hills passing into the Kathmandu Valley. It is mentioned in the relevant literature that the construction was completed in 1927. During the period of construction, another short-span Ropeway system from Halchok to Lainchaur (both locations in Kathmandu) was constructed and operationalized for transporting stones.
In 1964, the Ropeway system of Dhorsing -Chisapnai-Chandragiri was further improved and extended to 42 kilometers to Hetauda. Financial and technical assistance was provided by United State Agency for International Development(USAID). With the introduction of Foreign Aids to Nepal policy changed. In the Fifth Five-Year Plan, road construction enjoyed high priority. The donors were under the impression that the roads are the backbone of the development. In its ‘Nepal Country Report’ of 1976, the World Bank came to a conclusion that construction and maintenance of roads in the rugged mountainous country were too costly and other means of transport should be found. However, all the past lessons have totally been forgotten for decades and road building is booming despite the high cost and the damage they cause to the fragile mountain environment.
Many agencies carried out feasibility studies in the past to explore the possibilities of the different types of Ropeway in Nepal. Unfortunately, they all remained like academic exercises. Two goods carrying ropeways in Bhattedanda (Lalitpur) and Barpak (Gorkha), and Mankamana Cablecar (Gorkha) were actually built. Similarly, Parbat Udhyog Banijya Sangh with funding from ‘Kushma Balewa Yantrik Pul Company’ constructed a 600m long Kushma-Balewa passenger carrying a mechanized bridge Parbat district. Later, Chandragiri Cablecar (Kathmandu) and Kalinchowk Cablecar (Dolkha) have been operationalized by private sector entrepreneurs. Similarly, Annapurna Cablecar in Pokhara is in operation presently.
The feasibility report of the cablecar projects showed that demand for ropeway is high in remote areas of Nepal. But Policy makers did not give serious attention. Likewise, cablecar experts are doing their best to survey and design a number of passenger cablecars and goods carrying ropeways but for limited clients.
Keeping in view the geography and land structure of the country, the Ropeway system is a viable solution for the transportation of goods and passengers. A little land for towers and stations is enough for Ropeway systems. Short construction periods and cheaper construction costs are other benefits. Moreover, Ropeway systems are operated by electricity so electricity generated in the country will be well utilized. Thus Ropeway systems escape road construction and save the cost of fossil fuel to run the vehicles.
Nepal possesses extreme geographical conditions ranging from high hills and mountains to areas of flat land known as the Terai. Rugged terrains, unfavorable weather conditions, and scattered settlements in the hilly and mountainous regions obstruct the mobility of people and the transporting of goods and services as well as hindering development efforts. Rural access is a major problem in Nepal. Settlements are scattered, with few densely populated areas. In such a harsh mountainous region the construction of roads is both expensive and time-consuming. The cost of transporting construction materials is high, and damage from landslides is common.
Ropeway system is a non-polluting mode of transportation that can be constructed with easy technology which is cheap and constructed in a short time frame. Therefore ropeway technology is clime friendly, mountain friendly, and tourism friendly. Moreover, it’s economic and can contribute to lowering the use of the volume of fossil fuels.
As Ropeway systems constructed in Nepal past 99 years had shown good signs of decarbonized mobility. Other cablecar and ropeway systems constructed later are successful in commercial terms, and also in technical intervention.
The country and the entire world are looking for maximum use of renewable energy for mobility. So the importance of Ropeways is raised as it serves all checklists. This can help the climate change effect reduction campaigns like 100% Renewable Energy, Net Zero Emission, and so on. Moreover, Nepal is looking for a market for the consumption of electricity considering use in the country is better than exporting at a low price.
Moreover, this technology if the introduced cost of road construction, cost of transport vehicles, cost of fossil fuel, and costs of human resources drastically. Likewise, air pollution produced by vehicles will be fully checked and this will be an advantage from the point of view of public health protection.
Ropeway systems can be a viable solution for municipal waste transportation. The system may be utilized for transporting the waste generated in the Kathmandu Valley for instance, where segregation of domestic waste is just a good thought and the municipalities have to lift whatever has been dumped as waste by the residents and other waste-producing entities.
Celebrating 100 years of Ropeway in Nepal
A group of experts, campaigners, and media persons are collaborating to organize verities of activities to communicate ropeway technology to local leaders, provincial bodies, and federal authorities.
Likewise, policy hindrances will also be brought into focus to consider to reform or rewrite so as ways for ropeway promotion could be conducive.
They opine that if the authorities at different levels if understand the benefits and utilities of ropeway systems, Nepal can utilize this technology for the cheaper and best transportation to support rural agricultural and small industries as well. Hetuada-Kathmandu Ropeway may be considered to revive as a ‘Heritage Transportation’ which could serve goods transportation and passenger service. Thus, celebrating the 100th year of Ropeway in Nepal will be an opportunity for the ropeway technology to revive and way forward for extensions.