World’s Longest River Cruise Back On Track After Initial Snag

The flagship Ganga Vilas Cruise, flagged off last week by Narendra Modi, successfully Patna per the schedule and is not stuck in Chhapra, mentioned the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) on Monday.

Chairman, IWAI, Sanjay Bandopadhyaya, mentioned that MV Ganga Vilas is continuing its onward journey per schedule. It has reached Patna on schedule. It is not true that the vessel was stuck in Chhapra. The ship is going to continue its onward journey per schedule, the IWAI mentioned in a tweet quoting Bandopadhyaya.

Satendra Singh, Chhapra’s CO, mentioned that some local journalists had misquoted him. He had said that State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) boats were present at the spot as just a precautionary measure. 

PM Modi had reportedly flagged off the longest river cruise in the world – MV Ganga Vilas –via a video conference on 13 January.

The triple-deck cruise is on its way from Varanasi to Assam’s Dibrugarh. The cruise can accommodate up to 80 passengers. It has 18 suits. This cruise will embark on this journey for 51 days and sail through Bangladesh for 15 days. 

Following this, it will go to Dibrugarh via the Brahmaputra. The vessel is travelling a distance of more than 3,200 km and will pass through five states across Bangladesh and India.

 It is expected to pass through 27 river systems of UP, Bangladesh, Bihar, West Bengal, and Assam. The cruise will pass through three significant rivers Brahmaputra, Ganga, and Meghna. 

It’ll then enter the Bhagirathi, Bidyavati, Hooghly, Malata, and Sundarbans river systems. When in Bangladesh, it is expected to sail through Jamuna, Meghna, and Padma in Bangladesh and enter the Brahmaputra in Assam.

The cruise has been planned with visits to 50 famous tourist spots, including World Heritage Sights, river Ghats, National Parks, and major cities such as Patna, Kolkata, Dhaka, and Guwahati.

References: Free Press Journal, NDTV