Gulmarg Gondola services to resume from June 2 after technical snag

The Gulmarg Gondola cable car service in Jammu and Kashmir will resume operations on June 2 after remaining suspended following a technical malfunction that stranded 320 tourists. Authorities completed maintenance work and scheduled a final safety trial before reopening

Srinagar: The cable car project, commonly known as the Gulmarg Gondola, will resume normal operations on June 2, officials said on Sunday.

Officials said the services would resume after an expert trial run of the project is completed on Monday. The news about the resumption of the Gondola services has come as welcome news for tourists since the cable car project is a major attraction at the ski resort.

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“Experts will conduct a trial run of the Gondola system on Monday to assess operational safety and technical performance before allowing public services to resume from Tuesday.”

The Gondola had remained closed to tourists until June 1 following a technical malfunction that led authorities to suspend operations and undertake maintenance work.

“During the closure period, all tickets for visit dates between May 25 and June 1 were ordered to be refunded in full,” officials said.

Following a technical snag, the cable car project had come to a complete halt, leaving 320 people stranded mid-air in cabins on May 25.

All 320 tourists stranded mid-air were safely evacuated after a technical malfunction halted operations on both phases of the cable car system. The massive six-hour rescue mission was successfully carried out by the Indian Army, J&K Police, SDRF and local authorities.

The passengers were stranded in 65 cabins across the mountainous terrain, with some cabins suspended as high as 500 feet above the ground.

Emergency response teams reached the affected areas using snowmobiles and ATVs, launching a high-risk manual evacuation process in poor weather conditions to bring all visitors to safety.

All passengers were rescued without any major injuries.

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah ordered an official investigation into the cause of the malfunction.

Despite restoration efforts and preparations for reopening, the Jammu and Kashmir Cable Car Corporation has yet to determine responsibility for the incident that led to the suspension of services.

The closure is understood to have caused substantial financial losses to the corporation and affected tourism-related activity in Gulmarg during the peak tourist season.