Mid-air scare: Passengers stranded on ropeway in Gujarat’s Pavagadh for over 40 minutes before being rescued

A police officer, who arrived at the spot along with the emergency and rescue teams, said, “The ropeway operator used the public announcement system to ask the passengers to stay seated in the cabins and to remain calm as the technical fault was being repaired immediately… Fortunately, since the cabins are enclosed, there was no tragedy although children had begun to cry and the people were shouting in panic.”

Once the issue was remedied, the service resumed, albeit at a slow pace, and the passengers were evacuated safely. Officials added that the cable cars also brought back the passengers who were stranded in the queue at the temple.

Friday’s incident prompted several devotees to question the safety of the ropeway. Incidentally, earlier this month, the ropeway service was closed from August 7 to 11 for maintenance works.

One of the pilgrims who was stranded in the cable car with four children, including an 11-month-old baby, said, “We are visiting from Madhya Pradesh… We were in a big group and some of our members were stranded in the waiting area at the top. But the 45 minutes we spent suspended in the air at a height of nearly 600 metres was a horrific experience. The cable cars were not still and children were restless and in panic. The 11-month-old needed milk and we had run out of it…”

“More than that, this experience highlighted the safety issues. None of the cable cars have any light source. We could not even see each other inside the car without a torch from the mobile phone. There is no mobile network connectivity at the top and there is no way to communicate to any official if there is an emergency in the cable car… They should at least have a communication system in all cable cars for emergency use.”

Another passenger, who arrived at Maachi later, said, “We witnessed panic among the operators at the top. It is good luck that they managed to restore the rope without any casualty… The incident, however, raises questions on the technology being used for this ropeway service. There are ropeways that have anti-derailment technology now. So why was it not deployed here when the temple is located at such a treacherous height and it has seen an accident before.”

Pilgrims visiting the Kalika Mata temple can choose the Udan Khatola from Maachi or climb about 2,000 steps to reach the temple located on the hillock about 765 metres above sea level. The Pavagadh ropeway was opened in 1986, constructed and operated by Usha Breco Limited. On January 19, 2003, seven people, including two women and a five-year-old boy were killed and 24 others injured when one of the hauling ropes of the cable cars snapped, bringing three carriages crashing down to the ground, while six other cars remained suspended mid-air for several hours.