Sambalpur: The Sambalpur Municipal Corporation (SMC) has raised the price of tickets for the ropeway at Hirakud dam from Rs 70 to Rs 80 in view of recurring expenses.
According to sources, the new price was implemented on December 20.
“The ropeway ride gets a large number of visitors during winter. But during summer and monsoon, the number decreases remarkably. However, we require around Rs 20,000 to meet the daily expenses related to running and management of the ropeway. Hence, we decided to increase the ticket prices by Rs 10 so that it will not be a problem to run the ropeway even during the lean season,” TOI reported enforcement officer of the SMC, Subhankar Mohanty as saying.
Notably, the price of the ticket was hiked after one year. Although 600 tickets are sold daily during the tourist season, the number of tourists declines during summer and monsoon.
However, Damodar Ropeways, the firm entrusted with the maintenance of the ride, charges Rs 17,000 daily.
Besides, three SMC staff have been engaged in the maintenance. Electricity bills, generator, and other expenses are required to keep the ropeway functional.
It is pertinent to mention here that, the 421-m long ropeway, which began operations in November 2019, was installed at a cost of Rs 6.26 crore. There are twelve trolleys ferry between Jawahar Uddyan, a park, and Gandhi Minar, a watchtower. Each trolley can accommodate four persons. The ticket price was Rs 50 in 2019.
