More than 200,000 passengers ride Lumbini cable car in single year

BUTWAL, June 02:Over two lakh tourists have been taken to Palpa's historic Basantpur Hill by the Lumbini cable car in only a single year.

On May 29 of last year, the Lumbini cable car, which was constructed here, went into service. The cable car's upper station is in Basantpur Danda in Palpa's Tinau Rural Municipality, and the lower station is at Golpark Bamghat in Butwal.

In the year that the company has been in operation, 210,000 tourists—including visitors from India and third-world nations—have boarded the cable car, according to Prajwal Ghimire, the manager of the company. According to Ghimire, travelers from India make about 25% of those who visit and ride the cable car.

The corporation has disclosed that tickets valued at Rs 135 million were sold in a single year, inclusive of value-added tax and local tax.

The upper station of the 2.6 km cable car is about 1200 meters above sea level. The famous Shaktipeeth Kamakhya Devi's artistic temple in Basantpur and the local Durga temple, which has been worshiped since a hundred years ago, have become special attractions for Hindus.

According to operations manager DN Kayasth, the cable car, which has 25 gondolas, can accommodate 6,000 passengers every day.