MV Ganga Vilas, touted as the world's longest river cruise, will culminate its journey on Tuesday in Dibrugarh, Assam. Flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on January 13, MV Ganga Vilas began its journey from Varanasi. "MV Ganga Vilas will culminate its journey on February 28 in Dibrugarh. A welcome ceremony will be organised by the Inland Waterways Authority of India, under the aegis of Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways...in Dibrugarh on the same day," IWAI said in a statement.
The event will be graced by Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal along with other union and state ministers. The cruise would have covered a distance of 3,200 km in over 50 days after reaching Dibrugarh on February 28 via Patna Sahib, Bodh Gaya, Vikramshila, Dhaka, the Sudarbans and Kaziranga national park.
The cruise has three decks and 18 suites on board with a capacity of 36 tourists. It is already booked for to and fro journey for the next two years. "MV Ganga Vilas has put India and Bangladesh on the river cruise map of the world, thus opening a new horizon and vertical for tourism and freight carriage in the Indian sub-continent. Tourists seeking spirituality have the opportunity to visit destinations like Kashi, Bodh Gaya, Vikramshila, Patna Sahib and those keen on witnessing the natural diversity will cover destinations like Sundarbans and Kaziranga. "This route heralds a new chapter for freight carriage through inland waterways both for India and Bangladesh," Sonowal said.
