The famed Gondola ride in the tourist resort of Gulmarg will remain suspended for around a week after a technical fault on Monday prompted a large-scale rescue operation in which nearly 300 stranded tourists were evacuated safely, officials said on Tuesday.
They said the decision to suspend operations was taken purely in the interest of tourist safety and security.
“The Gondola ride will remain closed for around a week in the interest of tourists’ safety,” Director Tourism Kashmir and Managing Director of the J&K Cable Car Corporation, Syed Qamar Sajad.
J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Tuesday evening said the incident will be thoroughly examined and an enquiry will be conducted. “Responsibility for any lapses will be fixed and appropriate action taken,” the office of the CM said on X.
Syed Qamar said a technical snag developed in the gearbox of the trolley section on Tuesday afternoon, forcing authorities to halt operations and launch an emergency rescue mission. The rescue and evacuation operation was carried out jointly by the Police, Army, the State Disaster Response Force, and rescue teams of the Cable Car Corporation.
Qamar said six rescue teams of the Cable Car Corporation swung into action immediately, carrying out a coordinated vertical rescue operation from both the upper and lower terminals with logistical support from the police and SDRF.
“About 280 tourists were stranded in nearly 62 cabins hanging mid-air. Every tourist had to be rescued cabin by cabin through vertical evacuation. The operation was completed successfully within four to five hours, and all tourists were evacuated safely,” he said.
He said that the system was operating well within its approved capacity. “The Gondola has a capacity of 72 cabins, while only 63 cabins were operational. It was not an overload issue,” he said, adding that the snag occurred for the first time in the primary gearbox.
Qamar said an internal technical committee has been constituted to ascertain the causes behind the malfunction.
“Even if it takes more than a week, operations will resume only after we are 101 per cent satisfied about the safety of tourists,” he added.
Gulmarg Gondola is a major attraction for tourists in Kashmir, with a record one million visitors enjoying the ride in 2024.
