Ropeway over Brahmaputra river will be ready in coming 6 months: GMDA chairman

The much-awaited ropeway across the Brahmaputra river will be open for the public in coming six months, a senior state government official has said.

"We feel that in the coming 180 days, we will be able to start this project for the people of the country," Ashok Singhal, chairman of Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) told .

"The Prime Minister has always shown a keen interest in the development of north-east. This project was closed for a few years, but ever since Sarbananda Sonowal became the Chief Minister, this has picked up the pace."

"Through this project, tourism in Assam will get a major boost. This is one of its kind project -- a ropeway on water -- in the country. It will take seven minutes to go from one side of the ropeway to another," he added.

The ropeway was earlier expected to be open for public in February earlier this year.

It is, however, still under construction and will be open for public after the completion of trial runs, which officials say are expected to take a few months' time.

Singhal had earlier said that the project is being completed at a cost of about Rs 53 crore and most of the work has been completed.

The ropeway project was earlier scheduled to be commissioned by May 2011 with a private limited company being awarded the construction work on a turnkey design and execution basis.

The construction work was stopped by the Archaeological Survey of India(ASI) in February 2011. Permission for tilt rectification of well foundation number 2 (Pillar 2) was not given at Urvashi Island.

The GMDA secured the permission in 2015, but with a condition of relocating the pillar (T-2) beyond 300-metre of Urvashi Island.

Accordingly, the pillar was constructed at the south bank, near Kamrup Metro Deputy Commissioner's office, and the construction work on the four other pillars has also been completed.