Lack of prompt rescue mechanism with cable car companies raises issue of passengers safety

KATHMANDU, July 17: All 50 passengers stuck in gondolas of Chandragiri Cable Car for nearly two hours due to power outage have safely returned back to the base.

According to Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Kumar Neupane, spokesperson for the Armed Police Force (APF), all passengers returned to the base safely after power resumed.

“We had reached the site for the rescue operation with ladders, ropes and safety gears but there was no need to use them as the power resumed soon after we reached the scene,” DIG Neupane told Republica.

DIG Neupane added that the passengers returned back after the cable car started operating service with the resumption of electricity.

A team of 26 APF personnel was deployed to rescue the passengers stuck in the gondolas. 

Sundar Shrestha, an official of Chandragiri Cable Car, confirmed that all the passengers have been evacuated safely without any incident. 

Altogether 50 passengers were stuck inside the cable car from 1:30 PM to 3 PM on Wednesday due to a power outage.

This is the second time in the past five months that the cable car company faces similar technical problems. However, the company has not taken any heed to work out for the safety of its passengers. 

The technical issues with the Chandragiri Cable Car are frequent. Barely five months ago on February 27, passengers faced the same problem. The APF had to rescue passengers from two gondolas after they were stuck for an hour.

On July 6, 2022, the same problem occurred when passengers, including former chairman of the National Assembly Ganesh Prasad Timalsina, were stuck in the Chandragiri Cable Car for 25 minutes. After operating the cable car for some time, the same problem occurred again that day. 

Nearly four hundred people who had gone to visit the Bhaleshwor temple in Chandragiri were stuck due to the problem with the power supply.

 
• Chandragiri_Cable_Car