Jammu: A Rs30 crore cable car project has been proposed by the Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) government to connect heritage sites across the city.

“A cable car project (Gandola) will be set up at a cost of Rs30 crore to connect heritage sites of Bagh-e-Bahu, Mubarak mandi, Mahamaya temple, Bawe Temple and Peerkho temple for catering to the pilgrims visiting Vaishnodevi and also tourists,” Pawan Kotwal, divisional commissioner Jammu said.

The blue print for this project was first prepared in 1995 and initially the cable car was to take off from Mubarak Mandi, but after the declaration of Mubarak Mandi and Bahu Fort as heritage sites, the project had to be relocated.

“A committed has been constituted for identifying new sites for constructing lower and upper terminals for the proposed ropeway,” he said.

He called for making the project self-sustainable by generating its own revenue.

Kotwal also asked for designing the project in such a manner that it can retain the tourists for more time in the city of the temples by developing attraction sites at Manda, Peerkho, Bagh-e-Bahu, Aquarium, Mahamaya temple and Sidhra Golf course.

He said that this would improve the economy of the region by creating varied avenues for the people associated with the tourism industry.