ZOOMBANGLA DESK: A luxurious cruiser, MV Ganga Vilas, one of the world’s largest river cruise, is set to begin its journey from Vanarasi of Uttar Pradesh to Assam through Bangladesh next week unlocking river cruise tourism for India.

Indian Prime Minister Nareandra Modi is set to flag off the cruise service on January 13 from Vanarasi in Uttar Pradesh, official sources said here this evening. The cruise ship will reach Dibrugargh in the India’s north-eastern state of Assam on March 1.

“The launch of world’s longest river cruise with MV Ganga Vilas by Prime Minister Narendra Modi will herald a new age of river cruise tourism for India,” said Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal.

The luxury cruise will cover a distance of more than 3,200 kms 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, he added.

The MV Ganga Vilas cruise is curated to bring out the best of the country to be showcased to the world.

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 in India and Dhaka in Bangladesh and Guwahati in Assam.

The MV Ganga Vilas vessel is 62 meters in length, 12 meters in width and comfortably sails with a draft of 1.4 meters. It has three decks, 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 maiden voyage of MV Ganga Vilas will witness 32 tourists from Switzerland relishing the Varanasi to Dibrugarh journey.

According to sources, the global River cruise market has grown at 5% over the last few years and is expected to constitute 37% of cruise market by 2027.

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

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, sources said. (BSS)