Lumbini cable car to come into operation from Monday

By A Staff Reporter,Kathmandu, May 28: The Lumbini cable car of Butwal will come into operation from Monday (May 29, 2023).

Before the commercial operation of the Lumbini cable car constructed with the investment of IME Group, the statue of Kamakhya Devi has been enshrined in the temple and worship has been started from Friday, according to the company. The Kamakhya Temple in Basantpur has been built in the style and art of the temple in Guwahati, India.

Religious Guru Kishore Gautam said that there is a belief that a visit to the Kamakhya Temple will fulfil one’s wishes and free one from worldly bonds. Devotees come from Rupandehi, Palpa and neighbouring districts along with Butwal for the week-long puja, Gautam said.

Around 11 pundits from Nepal and Guwahati are giving religious sermons during the week-long puja.

Engineer of Lumbini Cable Car Sunny Chaurasia said that Basantpur has become a religious destination with the construction of Bhagwati Temple, Ganesh Temple, Mount Kailash, Bar Peepal, Dhunge Dhara and pond along with the temple of Kamakhya Devi.

He said that the commercial operation of the cable car will start from Monday during the week-long puja. A tripartite agreement has been signed among Lumbini Cable Car Pvt. Ltd., Butwal Sub-Metropolitan City and Tinau Rural Municipality for cable car operation.

Lumbini Cable Car Private Limited will allocate 2 per cent of the ticket sales revenue for the two municipalities.

The 3-km cable car from Golpark Bamghat in Butwal to Tinau Rural Municipality-3, Basantpur in Palpa is the first cable car in Lumbini Province.

This is the third cable car to be launched by IME Group. Earlier, the IME Group has already launched Chandragiri Cable Car in Kathmandu and recently started Maulakali Cable Car at Gaidakot in Nawalpur.

Chairman of Lumbini Cable Car Chandra Prasad Dhakal said that the operation of Lumbini cable car has added a new religious and tourist destination of Basantpur. He said that investment was made in the cable car seeing the possibility of attracting Indians from various cities, including Gorakhpur and Lucknow in India.

The total cost of the project, including the cable car and resort, is Rs. 5 billion. In the first phase, one and a half billion has been invested in the cable car.

Two restaurants - vegetarian and non-vegetarian - have been made separately for tourists at the top station, while a children’s garden and sky jeep line are under construction.

The cable car, which has 25 gondolas of the monocable detachable system, can carry 6,000 passengers daily, said the company.

The bottom station is 230 metres above sea level while the top station is 940 metres above sea level. Top station can be reached within a 10-minute journey from the button station.

Gokul Saud, chief of the cable car project, said that a five-star hotel and other infrastructure would be built at the top station at a cost of Rs. 3.5 billion after the cable car came into operation.