2 days Ago
Kathmandu, Jan. 2: As the country enters the era of cable car services across its hills and mountains, this mode of transportation has undoubtedly made travel more convenient for people in hilly regions. While the nation has embraced the cable car era, questions regarding who or which government body is responsible for ensuring safety of the service and accountability for passengers' safety and security remain unanswered.
According to engineers and experts associated with cable car operations in Nepal, while the recent expansion of cable car services to various locations is commendable, it appears that operators occasionally neglect their responsibilities and accountability owing to technical issues that arise in the service. Ensuring the safety of passengers and maintaining the reliability of the service should always be a top priority. However, some cable car operators seem to overlook addressing problems that occur intermittently in their service.
On December 30, passengers faced significant inconvenience when a technical issue arose with the Chandragiri cable car, located on the outskirts of the capital. This is not the first time such a problem has occurred with the Chandragiri cable car service. In 2024 alone, technical issues have been reported four times.
Although the company stated that the problems were neither major nor complex, passengers forced to spend hours inside a gondola lift service can cause significant mental stress, making the experience uncomfortable for anyone. According to Sunil Karmacharya, Chief Engineer of the Operations and Maintenance Department of Nepal's first passenger cable car service, the Manakamana Cable Car, a robust government monitoring body is urgently needed to establish standards and procedures for the operation and safety of cable cars in Nepal. At present, there is no mechanism in Nepal to regulate the quality, type, and source of materials and tools required for the construction and operation of cable cars.
"Currently, any company can procure materials and technology for cable car operations from any country without regulation," said Karmacharya. "There is no government body to oversee whether a company is importing used equipment from secondary markets or introducing brand-new technology," he added. Regarding the safety of the Manakamana Cable Car, Karmacharya said that preventive maintenance is conducted every four months, with regular weekly inspections.
Tools and technical teams are also imported from Austria to ensure safety. The Manakamana Cable Car, which has been providing services for 27 years, occasionally faces interruptions due to power outages, during which operations must rely on generators, causing temporary service halts, explained Karmacharya. "If there occurs a major technical issue with this service at present, we approach the Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration to present our concerns," said Karmacharya.
However, when we raise our concerns with the Ministry, due to the absence of technical personnel there, it becomes quite challenging to address the technical problems of the cable car, said Karmacharya. For instance, just a few months ago, the Manakamana Cable Car had to shut down its service for an entire month for maintenance. Since all the technical experts and necessary repair tools had to be brought from Austria, the technical staff faced significant challenges at the customs while bringing the materials.
"Consequently, we had to approach the federal ministry to explain the technical difficulties to the government to bring machinery parts for its maintenance," explained Karmacharya. According to another engineer, Milan Acharya, who is also the chairperson of Nepal Cableways Company Pvt. Ltd.
, it has become extremely necessary to establish a separate regulatory and supervisory body under a specific ministry to oversee cable car services in Nepal. Currently, there are about 9-10 cable cars in operation in Nepal, with 6-7 more under construction, he said. Currently, there are half a dozen cable car operators in service, including Manakamana Cable Car in Chitwan, Chandragiri Cable Car, Kalinchowk Cable Car in Dolakha, Annapurna Cable Car in Pokhara, Kaski, Maulakali Cable Car in Gaindakot, Nawalpur, and Lumbini Cable Car at Goalpark, Butwal.
On Saturday, December 28, 2024, the IME Group has just laid the foundation stone for the construction of Rs. 5 billion Jalpadevi Cable Car Project in Kailali. Foreign Minister Dr.
Arzu Rana Deuba and Chandra Dhakal of IME Group jointly laid the foundation stone. The 3.1-km Jalpadevi Cable Car will connect Chisapni in Lamki Chuha Municipality-3 to Rajkanda in Mohanyal Rural Municipality-7, Kailali.
As cable cars expand to every hill and ridge in Nepal in the future, there has to be a strong supervisory body under the government, equipped with the required and skillful manpower, Engineer Acharya said. In several European countries, there are dedicated ministries or departments responsible for granting permissions and regulating cable car operations. Such regulatory bodies have the authority to immediately halt operations during service, instructing companies to conduct emergency rescues and demonstrate compliance with safety standards.
In Europe, companies are required to rescue and ensure the safety of passengers inside gondolas within an hour; failing to do so results in fines or demands for clarification during inspection visit, he added. Meanwhile, the Armed Police Force (APF) Headquarters said that although there is no particular security force or unit to carry out rescue and operation of passengers stuck on a cable car in Nepal, APF has been doing it temporarily on a demand basis. Deputy Inspector General and Spokesperson for the APF Headquarters, Kumar Neupane, said that the Headquarters has limited number of cable car stuck passenger rescuers which is less than a dozen.
On different dates and time intervals, our rescuer team have even been conducting demo of emergency rescue operation reaching Chandragiri Hills. In case of any emergency, there is no dedicated agency or body to oversee and conduct immediate rescue of stranded passengers in cable car, said DIG Neupane. "As of today, we have been conducting rescue as per the necessity of the particular cable car company and upon their call," said DIG Neupane.
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