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With the travel industry steadily recovering from the effects and aftereffects of Covid-19 on the tourism and allied industries, the focus on sustainable mobility solutions has become even more prominent. Ropeways have re-emerged as pivotal growth accelerators for the domestic travel ecosystem in the post-Covid era. We have carried more than 70 lakh passengers in the ropeways built and operated by us in the FY 2022-23. With their operations entirely dependent on electricity, ropeways are eco-friendly, with the lowest carbon footprint emissions, land acquisition costs, and less fossil fuel usage compared to other travel modes like roadways, railways, and airways.Unlike ropeways, alternates are highly fossil fuel-intensive sectors even during their construction, management, and maintenance periods. For rounds in hills, the environmental aftermaths such as deforestation, air pollution, increasing load on mountains, global warming, etc., are all manifold higher compared to ropeways.
There is a steep rollback in the usage of fossil fuels even during the construction phase of ropeways where they were being used primarily, reflecting a strong resolute of ropeway operators to go green and finetune operations, attuning to the contemporary socio-environmental climate.
Many Indian ropeway players are also planning solar-powered ropeway operations to reduce even reliance on electricity and make cable cars, aerial trams, and other types of ropeways more environmentally conducive. Ropeways have been historically known as the mode of transport where there is no rampant destruction of the environment, as the master plans of ropeways include planting trees and promoting vegetation around ropeways sites. It is done with good will to give the environment more than it extracts from it.
Ropeways provide last-mile connectivity in hilly regions and are a faster mode of connecting points in hills than roadways. The Indian ropeway operators like DRIL are not just taking a leaflet out of foreign developers’ books in the standardisation, premiumisation, and upgradation of the infrastructures to make it greener and more eco-robust to keep it at par with foreign competition but are also at the forefront of engaging and empowering local communities and adopting environmentally conscious and sustainable practices.
The amount of pollution generated by vehicles using roads is far more than ropeways. A traveller choosing ropeway travel is implicitly and explicitly choosing a greener, eco-friendly mode of convenience for going to and fro for religious pilgrimages, adventure holidays, or spiritual getaways to pious locations.
According to a report by HVS ANAROCK, the boutique hotel segment has witnessed a growth rate of over 50% in the past three years alone. This surge can be attributed to the changing preferences of travellers who seek unique and personalised experiences that go beyond the conventional offerings of chain hotels that have disrupted traditional notions of luxury.
India has a vast and diverse landscape which inevitably makes ropeways imminent green travel options for mountains and terrains in a bid to shorten time travel distance, decongest urban towns, promote settlements, and also carry thousands of passengers in one go and improve organizational efficiency. India has seen a spur in ropeway developments with huge budget allocations announced for ropeway projects, foreseeing its massive potential in the protection of existing environmental cover, boost in employment opportunities, and economic activity in the not-so-easy-to-reach locations.
The Covid-19 pandemic has thrown the travel industry into despondency, foisted with huge uncertainties regarding its future revival. Ropeways became the pulse of the travel operation resurgence movement throbbing critical government action plans and attracting lakhs of tourists. With the pandemic setting a dreadful example of the severe repercussions faced by the human race due to years of environmental negligence in many areas, there is a symmetrical emphasis on ropeway operators and travellers to enhance and choose ropeway tourism for better future contingencies and results, respectively.
We need to ensure that the government keeps working on BIS standard or hybrid standard ropeway projects to ensure that Indian players continue to have a level playing field and provide sustainable solutions to the communities that it serves.
The author is the Managing Director, Damodar Ropeways & Infra.
DISCLAIMER: The views expressed are solely of the author and ETTravelWorld.com does not necessarily subscribe to it. ETTravelWorld.com shall not be responsible for any damage caused to any person/organisation directly or indirectly.
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