Centre tells states, UTs to carry out safety audit of ropeway projects

New Delhi, April 12: In the wake of the Deoghar ropeway accident, the Centre on Tuesday asked all states to carry out a safety audit of each ropeway project and put in place standard operating procedures to deal with such emergencies.
In a communication to all states and Union territories, Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla also said that for each ropeway project, a maintenance manual and programme must be in place so that the safety standards conform to good industry practices and such incidents do not recur.
The entity operating the ropeways must maintain a record of all the activities undertaken as part of the maintenance programme, he said in the communication.
“The state government must engage an experienced and qualified firm or organisation for carrying out a safety audit of each ropeway project. The entity operating the ropeway must comply with all the issues arising out of the audit,” the communication said.
Three people were killed while being rescued from cable cars in Jharkhand’s Deoghar district after the ropeway connecting a hill malfunctioned on Sunday.
The home secretary said BIS standards prescribed for the operation and maintenance of ropeway projects need to be scrupulously adhered to.
He said the necessary guidance in this regard may be taken from the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation (NHIDCL), which is the nodal organisation under the Ministry of Road, Transport, and Highways, Government of India.
Asking the states and union territories to review the condition of all the ropeway projects in their respective state, Bhalla said SOPs and contingency plans for operation and maintenance of ropeways, and system of safety audits must be put in place. “It should also be ensured that mock drills, mock exercises for handling contingency situations involving ropeways are periodically conducted,” he said.
The home secretary advised the states and UTs to designate a senior officer of an appropriate level to regularly review the preparedness measures in respect of ropeway operations as per the SOPs and contingency plan.
The mishap in Trikut Hills in Deoghar in Jharkhand occurred on April 10, leaving 18 trollies carrying over 60 people stranded in the air. After the efforts made by IAF, NDRF, Indian Army, ITBP, and local administration, the trapped people were rescued. However, three lives were lost.
“This incident has highlighted the need to have a detailed SOP and a contingency plan on ropeway operations, so as to prevent the occurrence of any such incident in the future,” the communication said. (PTI)