Luxury boat Ganga Vilas reaches Varanasi, to be flagged off by PM on longest river cruise

The Ganga Vilas luxury cruise boat reached Ramnagar Port in Varanasi on Tuesday after having left Kolkata on December 22.

The cruise which was scheduled to reach Varanasi on Saturday got delayed due to bad weather en route, news agency ANI reported citing sources. The cruise will move from the Ramnagar port to Sant Ravidas Ghat where it will be given a grand welcome.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will virtually launch the world’s longest river cruise to be undertaken by MV Ganga Vilas on January 13. The trip is expected to herald a new age of river cruise tourism for India.

The luxury cruise will cover a distance of more than 3,200 km across 27 river systems in five states in India and Bangladesh. The huge untapped potential of river cruises is set to get unlocked with the launch of this service, according to Shipping Minister Sarbananda Sonowal.

The 51 days cruise is planned with visits to 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 maiden voyage of MV Ganga Vilas will have 32 tourists from Switzerland on board for the Varanasi to Dibrugarh journey.

The MV Ganga Vilas vessel is 62 metres in length and 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, with all the amenities to provide a memorable and luxurious experience for the tourists.

The ship follows sustainable principles at its core as it is equipped with pollution-free mechanisms and noise control technologies.

The expected date of arrival of MV Ganga Vilas in Dibrugarh is on March 1, 2023.

The itinerary of MV Ganga Vilas has been curated to showcase the rich heritage of India with stopovers in spots of historical, cultural and religious importance.

From the famous “Ganga Arti” in Varanasi, it will stop at Sarnath, a place of great reverence for Buddhism. It will also cover Mayong, 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.

The cruise will also traverse through the biodiversity-rich World Heritage Sites of Sunderbans in the Bay of Bengal delta, famous for Royal Bengal Tigers, as well as Kaziranga National Park, famous for one horn rhino.

Highlighting the need to develop river cruise tourism in the country, Union Minister Sonowal said that the development of this sector would generate employment opportunities in the hinterland.

The government is making capital expenditures to build capacity for the success of river cruise tourism in the country.

He said the river tourism circuits will be developed and integrated with the existing tourism circuits for maximum exposure and rapid development of this sector in the country.

The MV Ganga Vilas cruise is a first-of-its-kind cruise service. With support from the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) under the Ministry of Shipping, Ports, and Waterways (MoPSW), the success of this service is likely to enthuse entrepreneurs to explore river cruises in other parts of the country.

The global River cruise market has grown by 5 per cent over the last few years and is expected to constitute 37 per cent of the cruise market by 2027.Europe has been driving growth with approx. 60 per cent share of river cruise vessels in the world.

In India, 8 river cruise vessels are operational between Kolkata and Varanasi while cruise movement is also operation on National Waterways 2 (Brahmaputra).

Tourism activities like river rafting, camping, sightseeing, kayaking, and so on are operated in many spots in the country.

The construction of 10 passenger terminals across NW2 is going on which will further bolster the prospect of a river cruise.

At present, four river cruise vessels are operational in NW2 while it is operating in a limited capacity in NW3 (West Coast Canal), NW8, NW 4, NW 87, NW 97, and NW 5. As the capital expenditure is pumped to build capacity in the inland waterways, the river cruise is set to grow further with systematic forward and backward linkage for the economy, especially across the banks of the rivers.

The luxury triple-deck cruise boat will travel on the world’s longest waterway from Varanasi to Dibrugarh in Assam. The cruise will have a capacity of 80 passengers with 18 suits.

This cruise will go on an adventurous journey for 51 days and pass through Bangladesh for 15 days.

Following this, it will go to Dibrugarh through the Brahmaputra river in Assam.

The luxury cruise will cover a distance of more than 3,200 kms and pass through 5 states in India and Bangladesh.

This cruise will pass through a total of 27 river systems of UP, Bihar, West Bengal, Bangladesh, and Assam. The cruise will pass through three major rivers Ganga, Meghna, and Brahmaputra.

The cruise will enter the Bhagirathi, Hooghly, Bidyavati, Malata, and Sundarbans river systems in Bengal.

In Bangladesh, it will pass through Meghna, Padma, and Jamuna in Bangladesh and then enter the Brahmaputra in Assam.

According to an official statement, the 51 days cruise is planned with visits to 50 tourist spots including World Heritage Sights, 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

Tent City at Varanasi

PM Modi will also inaugurate the Tent City at Varanasi which has been conceptualised on the banks of River Ganga to tap the potential of tourism in the region. The project has been developed opposite to city ghats which will provide accommodation facilities and cater to the increased tourists influx in Varanasi, especially since the inauguration of Kashi Vishwanath Dham. It has been developed by Varanasi Development Authority in PPP mode.

The tourists will reach the Tent City by boats from different Ghats situated in the vicinity. The tent city will be operational from October to June every year and will be dismantled for three months due to rise in river water level in the rainy season.