Maharashtra’s second cable car in Jivdani temple

In what would be a sort of a New Year gift, Maharashtra’s second cable car would be commissioned in Virar in Palghar district adjoining Mumbai.

The funicular rail or cable car would be made operational in the Jivdani Mata temple that is located in a hill top in Virar, around 70 kms off downtown Mumbai.

The temple is on the hill almost 1,500 ft from the sea level – and to reach there one has to take about 1,465 steps above the ground level.The hill offers a very picturesque view of Virar township and the natural beauty and its vicinity.

During the nine days of the Navratri festival many devotees visit the shrine.The estimated Rs 35-crore project is fully funded by the Shree Jivdani Devi Sansthan Trust (SJDS), through its own resources, loans and donations.

The funicular railway is expected to be opened for public in January 2021.Earlier there used to be a ropeway, however, it has been dismantled and a cable car has been installed.The cable car is capable of ferrying 104 people up the 380-meter steep hillock within 7 minutes.

This is the second funicular rail in Maharashtra and the first in the Mumbai metropolitan region (MMR).The first funicular rail in the state was commissioned in 2018 at Saptashrungi Devi Temple that is located at 1,440-feet hill top in Nashik.In the MMR, another funicular rail has been planned for the hilltop Dargah of Baba Haji Malang at a height of 3,200 in Malanggad in Raigad district.

The Jivdani Mata temple cable car is bound to attract a huge crowd. The entire project has advanced security systems to prevent any kind of disasters, breakdown in the supporting cables, CCTVs.

Promising it to be a ‘pocket-friendly ride,’ SJDS President and Vasai MLA Hitendra Thakur said that each trip can carry 104 devotees, with a dozen services planned every hour for 12-14 hours daily.