MV Ganga Vilas, touted as the world's longest river cruise, that seeks to untap India's river tourism potential, will be flagged off from Varanasi by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on January 13.
The 51-day cruise between Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh and Dibrugarh in eastern Assam, will cover 50 tourist spots including world heritage sites, national parks, river Ghats, and major cities like Patna in Bihar, Sahibganj in Jharkhand, Kolkata in West Bengal, Dhaka in Bangladesh and Guwahati in Assam. The cruise will sail through the India-Bangladesh river route.
At least 32 tourists from Switzerland will relish the maiden voyage of MV Ganga, which will culminate on March 1 in Dibrugarh, the hub of famous Assam tea.
After witnessing the famous “Ganga Arti” in Varanasi, the cruise will stop at Sarnath, a Buddhist pilgrimage in Bihar and will cover Sundarban in Bengal, Mayong in Assam, known for its Tantric craft, and Majuli, the largest river island and hub of Vaishnavite culture in Assam. The travellers will also visit the Bihar School of Yoga and Vikramshila University, allowing them to soak in the rich Indian heritage in spirituality and knowledge. Kaziranga National Park, the rhino hub in Assam, Sundarban, famous for its Royal Bengal Tigers in Bay of Bengal delta are two other major stopovers of the cruise.
"The MV Ganga Vilas cruise is a step towards unlocking the huge potential river tourism in the country has to offer. Our rich heritage will get further transcended in the global stage as tourists will be able to experience the spiritual, the educational, the cultural richness of the biodiversity of India," said Sarbananda Sonowal, the Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways.
Ganga Vilas is a 62-meter-long vessel, 12 meters in width and comfortably sails with a draft of 1.4 meters. It has three decks and 18 suites on board with a capacity of 36 tourists, said a statement issued by the shipping ministry.
Stating that MV Ganga Vilas will encourage more entrepreneurs to venture into river tourism and thereby generate employment, Sonowal said Europe has been driving growth with about 60 per cent share of river cruise vessels in the world. "In India, eight river cruise vessels are operational between Kolkata and Varanasi while cruise movement is also operational on National Waterways 2 (the Brahmaputra). Tourism activities like river rafting, camping, sightseeing, kayaking and so on are in operation in many spots in the country. The construction of 10 passenger terminals across NW-2 are going on to further bolster the prospect of river cruise," it said.