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Hindustan Times
4 days ago
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Protest held against Bijali Mahadev Ropeway project in Kullu
The faith in the local deity (devta) runs supreme in Himachal Pradesh and this was witnessed once again on Friday as residents took to streets seeking scrapping of the Bijali Mahadev ropeway project citing 'deity's orders'. People stage a protest against Bijli Mahadev ropeway project in Kullu. (Aqil Khan /HT) The protesters which had sizeable number of women and elderly, was mobilized by the Bijili Mahadev Ropeway Sangharsh Samiti (BMRSS) and they submitted a memorandum to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union minister Nitin Gadkari demanding cancellation of the project citing 'deity's orders.' Deputy Commissioner, Kullu, Torul S Raveesh, on Friday said: 'A memorandum was handed over and we will be forwarding the same to the government.' MLA defends project, terms protest politically motivated MLA of Kullu, Sunder Singh Thakur said, 'Those against development are opposing the project in garb of the devta's order and the project is politically motivated.' Lashing out at the BJP for 'double speak', Thakur said, 'In the 2022 assembly elections, when former MP and former MLA Maheshwar Singh campaigned by putting up posters for the construction of Bijli Mahadev ropeway, no one opposed it at that time and today they are opposing it, this is their hypocrisy'. Bijli Mahadev is a famous pilgrimage site in Kullu district. It is a Union government project under the Parvatmala Yojana, also known as the National Ropeways Development Programme — designed to offer a sustainable and efficient alternative to traditional road transport in hilly areas. Union Minister Nitin Gadkari has laid the foundation stone of the ropeway project for Bijli Mahadev in March 2024. The residents of Kharal valley, which lies at the foothills of the Bijli Mahadev temple have been holding agitations against the ropeway project. The residents say that the 2.4-km-long ropeway project would destroy the hill of Bijli Mahadev, pointing towards the cracking up at several places. The protesters gathered at Ramshila in Kullu and walked till Dhalpur ground where they raised slogans against the project, where heavy deployment of police was done. 'Devta is against the project and we are here to demand scrapping of the project. Development cannot be at the cost of the faith', said 75-year-old Deena Ram. 'Bijli Mahadev is a centre of religious faith and commercial centre should not be built there. Keeping in mind the faith of local people, it should be canceled,' said Devika Rani, 65, a local. The president of Devbhoomi Jagran Manch, Kshitij Sood, said, 'Devbani is supreme in Devbhoomi Kullu and the deity is repeatedly opposing the construction so this ropeway should be cancelled'. President of BMRSS, Suresh Negi, said, 'People are on the streets against the ropeway project as the devta is against the same. The project is coming up against the orders of the devta.' Former president of Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC), Kullu, Ram Singh said, 'People and organizations associated with Dev Samaj will have to come together. He also warned the president of Kardar Sangh to respect the people associated with Dev Samaj and join them in their campaign. I will take your voice to Delhi'. Vinender Singh Jamwal, caretaker of Bijli Mahadev temple said, 'We have a special request to the central government, Prime Minister and Nitin Gadkari that they should cancel this ropeway and follow the order of the deity and respect the public feelings of the people here'.
Time of India
15-07-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Residents of Bijli Mahadev launch campaign to stop ropeway project
1 2 3 Kullu: Ahead of its planned protest march, the Bijli Mahadev Ropeway Sangharsh Samiti (BMRSS) on Tuesday launched a village-to-village campaign to unite the residents against the ropeway project that is planned to come up on the scenic and sacred meadows of the Bijli Mahadev temple in Kullu district. Led by Suresh Negi, president, BMRSS, the committee members on Tuesday visited Pechha village near Bijli Mahadev and sought residents' help in opposing the ropeway project and to not let the govt convert their "place of faith into a tourist spot". The committee is planning to visit not only the villages of the Kullu valley but also the neighbouring Parvati valley to raise awareness about the environmental harms such a project can cause in Bijli Mahadev, a place of pilgrimage for the locals. "Our ongoing campaign is taking the shape of a mass movement against the ropeway project, which was finalised by the govt by ruthlessly ignoring the faith of the people and by keeping aside all the environmental concerns. Even Lord Bijli Mahadev has said no to this project but still the govt is adamant," said Negi. "The people of Kullu are uniting against the ropeway project, which is sure to destroy our sacred place of faith by converting it into a tourist spot. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like This Could Be the Best Time to Trade Gold in 5 Years IC Markets Learn More Undo Bijli Mahadev is not for sale and if needed we are ready to give our lives to save Bijli Mahadev," he said, adding that a massive protest would be held in Kullu on July 25. The residents of Kharal valley, which lies at the foothills of the Bijli Mahadev temple, have been holding agitations against the ropeway project for more than two years. They believe that the 2.4-km-long ropeway project would destroy the meadows of Bijli Mahadev, which is located at an altitude of around 2,460 metres. The meadows of Bijli Mahadev have been cracking up at several places and locals say that the ropeway project, which is to be built at an estimated cost of Rs 284 crore with a capacity of 36,000 passenger trips per day, would completely destroy the area. So far, no politician, neither from the Congress nor from the BJP, has come out in support of the residents, who kicked off the latest rounds of protests in the first week of this month when as many as 67 deodar trees were cut for the project by the National Highways Logistics Management Limited, which is building the ropeway. The angry residents last week forcefully stopped the tree-felling work in the Bijli Mahadev forest and have not allowed the transportation of timber. As per the project details, a total of 203 trees will be cut and around 3.1 hectares of forest land will be diverted for the project. "They came like thieves in the night and cut our trees when no one was watching. But we will not let this happen again. The villagers living near Bijli Mahadev have a right over the forest land and its trees under the Forest Rights Act. No prior permission was taken from the FRA committee to cut the trees. This fact makes it a crime," said Fateh Rana, general secretary, BMRSS. Rana said most of the panchayats of the Kharal valley had already given in writing that they have not provided a no-objection certificate (NOC) for the project. "Six panchayats have written to us saying they did not give NOCs and the rest will follow suit. If there was no NOC then how come this project was cleared?" Rana asked. When contacted, conservator, Kullu Forest Circle, Sandeep Sharma said all the requisite permissions for the project were in place. "This project has received stage-1 in-principal permission from the environment ministry. But since it's a linear project, the work can start before the stage-2 or the final permission. The project developer has already submitted the costs, including of trees to be cut and the environmental compensation for the forest land to be diverted for the project," said Sharma.
