Flagging off of the world’s longest river cruise – Ganga Vilas
(i) With the objective of development of National Waterways ecosystem in the country and harnessing the potential of waterways for river cruise tourism, the world’s longest river cruise shall be flagged off by Hon’ble Prime Minster on 13th Jan 2022 from Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh to Dibrugarh in Assam.
(ii) The journey of River cruise vessel M.V. Ganga Vilasover 51 days through 27 river systems in India and Bangladesh covering a distance of approximately 3,200 Km will include stoppages and visits at over 50 locations including various world heritage sights, river ghats, National parks and sanctuaries including the Sunderbans Delta and Kaziranga National Park and expected to reach its destination Dibrugarh in Assam on 1st Mar 2023. Major cities along the river route are Patna (Bihar), Sahibganj (Jharkhand), Kolkata (west Bengal), Dhaka (Bangladesh) and Guwahati (Assam).
(iii) The success of this voyage will leverage the potential of river cruise to the entire world as this one has been booked by overseas tourists. This will also share with the world the rich civilisation of our country which has evolved and lives around the rivers.
(iv) The successful voyage of this world’s longest river journey by a river cruise vessel in the world will put India and Bangladesh on the River Cruise Map of the world, opening a new horizon and vertical for tourism in Indian sub-continent and will result in development of various tourist circuits in the encompassing States.
(v) The river cruise vessel is of 62 metres length, 12 metres width and requires a draft of only 1.4 metres. It has three decks and 18 suites on board for carrying about 36 passengers. It has all the amenities available on board to entertain the tourists and also to provide a luxurious experience for the tourists. The vessel will be carrying tourists from Switzerland.
