Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Saturday, 11 July 2026, welcomed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's public reference to the Hemkund Sahib Ropeway Project during the PM's visit to New Zealand, calling it a milestone for pilgrim connectivity and the state's broader development agenda.

Posting on X, CM Dhami noted that from New Zealand's soil, the Prime Minister had highlighted the world-renowned Hemkund Sahib Ropeway, describing it as an ambitious project that is 'rapidly taking shape' (tezi se sakar ho raha hai) and is set to give fresh momentum to both pilgrim convenience and Uttarakhand's development.

Context

The Hemkund Sahib shrine, located in Chamoli district, Uttarakhand, is one of the highest Sikh gurdwaras in the world, drawing lakhs of devotees each year. Access currently requires a strenuous trek at high altitude, making it inaccessible to elderly pilgrims and those with physical limitations. A ropeway would dramatically cut travel time and open the shrine to a far wider cross-section of worshippers.

PM Modi's overseas invocation of a state-level infrastructure project signals the importance the central government attaches to pilgrimage connectivity as a development narrative — a pattern seen on multiple international visits in recent years.

Policy Backdrop

The ropeway proposal sits within the Parvatmala National Ropeways Programme, launched in 2021-22, which aims to build passenger ropeways across hilly and pilgrimage regions of India. The programme is designed to provide an alternative to road travel in terrain where construction faces serious environmental and geological constraints.

Uttarakhand has been among the primary beneficiaries of this initiative, with several ropeway proposals cleared under the central scheme to reduce journey times to religious sites including Kedarnath and Yamunotri. The Hemkund Sahib project is among the most prominent and symbolically significant of these proposals.

Stakeholders and Impact

The project's most immediate beneficiaries would be the lakhs of pilgrims — particularly elderly and differently-abled devotees — who currently cannot complete the high-altitude trek to Hemkund Sahib. The Uttarakhand tourism sector stands to gain significantly, with improved accessibility expected to boost visitor numbers and associated economic activity in the Chamoli region.

Ropeway-led connectivity also reduces pressure on fragile Himalayan roads and lowers the carbon footprint of pilgrimage travel, aligning with the state's stated environmental commitments. Local communities along the route could see increased livelihood opportunities tied to a higher pilgrim footfall.

What's Next

Attention will now turn to the release of construction milestones or a revised completion timeline by the Uttarakhand government or the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. CM Dhami's public acknowledgement of the PM's statement is likely to add political momentum to demands for an accelerated project schedule. If the ropeway is completed as envisaged, it would mark a transformative shift in how India's high-altitude pilgrimage sites are accessed — setting a template for similar projects across the Himalayas.