Life has no value! The work of building the ropeway was given to a blacklisted company

New Delhi. How safety standards are being ignored while awarding contracts for infrastructure projects is evident from the recent contract of ropeway construction given to a company. This company has a long history of accidents and two years ago, in an accident in Deoghar, Jharkhand, the army had to carry out a rescue operation for 40 hours. After this, the government blacklisted it for 5 years. Now its subsidiary company has been given the task of building a ropeway in Rajasthan once again. However, there is a constant demand to cancel its contract.

In fact, the work of constructing a ropeway at Chauth Mata Mandir in Chauth ka Barwada of Sawai Madhopur district of Rajasthan has been given to Chauth Mata Cable Car Private Limited, SPV company of Damodar Ropeway and Infra Limited (DRIL). Many fatal accidents have occurred in the previous projects of the company. Rival company and ropeway operator Usha Breco (UBL) has protested against this and demanded cancellation of the contract.

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6 times victim of accident
Ush Breko says that in the last few years, about six ropeway accidents have occurred on DRIL’s project. This includes the horrific accident that happened on April 22, 2022 at Trikut Hills in Deoghar district of Jharkhand. Three people died in this accident, while more than 60 tourists were stranded in the air for more than 40 hours. These people were rescued by the NDRF, Army, Air Force and District Administration through rescue operations. Two years later, the State Tourism Department blacklisted DRIL for five years. Along with this, a fine of Rs 9 crore was also imposed.

Frequently ignoring standards
UBL alleged that the biggest flaw in DRIL’s project was ignoring the standards. On January 20, 2019, some workers were working on the ropeway near Mahamaya Park Terminal Station in Jammu and Kashmir. Then suddenly the rescue trolley crashed and two people died and four others were injured. Investigation revealed that none of the six people on the trolley were wearing mandatory gear like helmets and safety ropes. These were not provided to them by the company, this was also confirmed by CCTV cameras. Also, only 2 people were allowed to stay in the trolley, while 6 people were riding on it.

Demand for cancellation of tender
UBL said that keeping in mind the safety of lakhs of pilgrims, this contract should be withdrawn from the blacklisted company. The company claims that it has been looking after the work of ropeway operation in the country since 1969 and has so far constructed 29 ropeways including India and Asia. This company is operating 9 passenger ropeways in the country.

Tags: Business news, Infrastructure Projects