MHA asks all states to conduct safety audit of all ropeway projects

In the wake of the Deoghar ropeway accident, the Centre on Tuesday asked all states to carry out a safety audit of each ropeway project and put in place standard operating procedures to deal with such emergencies.

In a communication to all states and Union territories, Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla also said that for each ropeway project, a maintenance manual and programme must be in place so that the safety standards conform to good industry practices.

The entity operating the ropeways must maintain a record of all the activities undertaken as part of the maintenance programme, he said in the communication.

"The state government must engage an experienced and qualified firm or organisation for carrying out a safety audit of each ropeway project. The entity operating the ropeway must comply with all the issues arising out of the audit," the communication said.

Three people were killed while being rescued from cable cars in Jharkhand's Deoghar district after the ropeway connecting a hill malfunctioned on Sunday afternoon.

Since Monday, 60 people have been safely evacuated with the help of Indian Air Force helicopters.