Dhaka-Kolkata maiden private cruise ship reaches Kolkata
MV Rajarhat-C with 89 passengers left for Kolkata from Pagla in Narayanganj on Wednesday
Under the Bangladesh-India Naval Protocol, the first private tourist ship started transporting passengers between the countries and safely reached Kolkata, India.
Sources in the Ministry of Shipping said MV Rajarhat-C with 89 passengers left for Kolkata from the VIP jetty located at Pagla in Narayanganj on Wednesday.
According to a report of The Times of India yesterday, the ship reached Kolkata's Indenture Memorial Jetty at the Kidderpore dock on Friday, two days after the vessel sailed off from Bangladesh.
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Md Mostafa Kamal, senior secretary of the Ministry of Shipping, told The Business Standard, "MV Rajarhat-C is the first private tourist ship from Bangladesh to Kolkata. Earlier, a ship went to Kolkata at the government level."
He said "Another ship will also arrive from India under the existing Naval Protocol Agreement between India and Bangladesh. Discussions are also underway regarding the introduction of an on-arrival visa facility for passengers."
"Infrastructure development is underway under the aforementioned agreement. If this initiative proves successful, the private sector is poised to expand the number of tourist vessels operating in the region," said the senior secretary.
According to ministry sources, another ship from Bangladesh is likely to leave for India on 14 December. Both countries have started this activity mainly considering the tourists.
The Times of India's report also stated, "After entering the Indian section of the Sundarbans at Hemnagar, MV Rajarhat-C, which has a capacity for carrying 300 passengers, took river and coastal routes of the Sundarbans via Namkhana and Diamond Harbour."
Bangladesh and India are currently connected by rail, road, and air, but there were no private water transport services, which have now started.
Earlier in 2019, a government-level ship went to Kolkata but it was not deemed profitable and no further trips were run.
However, the government is trying to make it attractive to passengers in the private sector, relevant sources said.
