Centre asks states and UTs to conduct safety audit for all ropeway projects

New Delhi: Taking into the contingence of the Deoghar ropeway accident, the Centre on Tuesday asked all states and union territories to carry out a safety audit of each ropeway project. It also issued a standard operating procedure (SOP) to deal with such incidents.

On behalf of the government, Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla also said that 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 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 release said.

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.

It is important to note that three people lost their lives while being rescued from cable cars in Jharkhand’s Deoghar district.

The home secretary added in his letter that BIS standards prescribed for the operation and maintenance of ropeway projects are very important.

He said the necessary guidance in this regard is available from the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation (NHIDCL).

“It should also be ensured that mock drills, mock exercises for handling contingency situations involving ropeways are periodically conducted,” he further said.

The home secretary also advised the UTs and the states 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.

Notably, 60 people were stranded in the air near Trikut Hills in Deoghar in Jharkhand on April 10 after trollies they were travelling in collided with others.

“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,” Bhalla said in the communication.