HT Correspondent
TEZPUR, Feb 22: World’s longest river cruise MV Ganga Vilas ship reached Tezpur on Wednesday around 5:40 pm after sailing 420 kms in Assam through Dhubri, Goalpara, Sualkuchi, Pandu and Mayong. The ship cruised along the mighty Brahmaputra for the sixth day since entering Assam on last Friday. The luxury cruise has sailed 420 kms in Assam after re-entering India from Bangladesh. In total, MV Ganga Vilas has covered 2,880 kms since it began its maiden voyage on January 13, 2023, from Varanasi after Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off the ship.
Before Tezpur, the travelling 28 foreign tourists visited many iconic places of repute in Dhubri, Goalpara, Sualkuchi, Pandu before reaching Tezpur on Wednesday evening. The tourists are scheduled to visit the famous Chitralekha Udyan, popularly known as Cole Park, and the archeological site of Da Parbatiya on Thursday morning. Post their visit in Tezpur, the ship will continue their onward journey to Silghat where the tourists may visit the Jute Cooperative Factory. The tourists are likely to spend a full day trip to Kaziranga National Park during this time. MV Ganga Vilas will continue its onward journey from Silghat to Bogibeel via stoppages at Biswanath Ghat, Kerkerighat, Majuli and Nimati.
Flagged off by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the historic cruise set sail from Varanasi on January 13, 2023, and, after traversing through Indian states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal as well as Bangladesh, arrived at Dhubri in Assam on its 37th day of voyage. Dubbed as the longest river cruise in the world, the Varanasi to Bogibeel voyage by the MV Ganga Vilas is scheduled to complete the journey when it anchors at Bogibeel in Dibrugarh drawing a close to this exotic experience of river cruise.
Earlier, the Union minister of ports, shipping & waterways and Ayush, Sarbananda Sonowal termed the arrival of MV Ganga Vilas cruise ship at Dhubri in Assam, India as a ‘watershed moment’ in the inland waterways transportation towards transformation of Northeast India. The minister congratulated the people of Assam and the northeast on this historic moment that is set to unlock a huge potential of river tourism, allowing trickle down development for people across the bank of the Brahmaputra.
