The Jharkhand government has blacklisted Damodar Ropeways and Infra Ltd (DRIL), the cable car operator at Trikut Hills in Deoghar district, for five years and slapped a fine of over Rs 9 crore on it, a senior official said on Thursday.
A major cable car accident at Trikut Hills in April 2022 had claimed three lives, while over 60 people were rescued after being stranded mid-air for about 46 hours in joint operations by NDRF, Army, Air Force and administration.
The 766-metre Trikut ropeway is India’s highest vertical ropeway, according to the state’s tourism department.
An enquiry committee was set up by the Department of Tourism to probe into the reasons behind the accident.
There were allegations of negligence on the part of DRIL leading to the accident. The company, however, denied the charge.
“The Jharkhand Tourism Development Corporation (JTDC) board has taken a decision to blacklist DRIL for five years. It has also imposed a penalty of over Rs 9 crore on it,” Tourism Secretary Manoj Kumar told PTI.
JTDC managing director has issued a letter to the company to deposit Rs 9.11 crore, failing which a civil damage suit will be filed against DRIL, he said.
DRIL Managing Director Aditya Chamaria said the action was “unfortunate” and against natural justice and claimed they were not given a chance of hearing either by the enquiry committee or by the JTDC.
“We are moving the court against that order. The allegations of negligence are totally false. We are running 14 ropeways all over India. ...It (DRIL) holds 30-40 per cent market share of the ropeway industry. Even the enquiry committee mentioned in its report that it is the rarest of the rare category of defect. On the basis of the rarest category of defect, how can you blacklist a firm? It is a harsh decision,” Chamaria told PTI.
He claimed that there is no basis for a Rs 9 crore penalty that includes Rs 5 crore repair and maintenance charges.
A government report mentions that on April 10, 2022 the passenger Ropeway at Trikut Hill, Near Deoghar (Jharkhand) stopped while in operation leaving 59 passengers stranded mid-air on the Ropeway.
