MV Ganga Vilas places India-Bangladesh on world river cruise map: Indian minister

The successful 50-day journey of MV Ganga Vilas, which travelled 3,200 kilometres of the waterway through India and Bangladesh, has put both countries on the river cruise map of the world, Indian Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said on Tuesday.

He was addressing an event in India's Dibrugarh, organised to welcome tourists of the world's longest river cruise, which concluded its 50-day river journey after arriving at Bogibeel in Dibrugarh at around 2:30pm on 28 February, Business Standard reported.

"It is a historic and path-breaking event to be witnessed in the Inland Waterways sector. MV Ganga Vilas has put India and Bangladesh on the river cruise map of the world. It has opened a new vista and vertical for tourism and freight carriage in the Indian sub-continent," he said.

Sonowal noted that the successful completion of a 3200-km-long river journey opens up new opportunities in the river tourism potential in the entire South Asia region.

"The river cruise also shows the investment potential in river tourism in the entire South Asia region," he added.

Shripad Yesso Naik, the Union Minister of State for Ports, Shipping & Waterways and Tourism, meanwhile urged investors to explore the potential that lies in the river ways segment.

"There has been an encouraging response from foreign tourists to explore India via riverways. People from countries like Switzerland seen as tourist attractions are coming to explore India through waterways. I urge the investors to explore the potential that lies in our river ways segment which will grow as a hot business area in the months to come," he said.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off the vessel on January 13 in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh.

The whole cruise from Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh to Dibrugarh in Assam via Bangladesh cost $15,300 per person, reported the Hindu. The cost will be $300 for a day.

During its 50-day journey, the cruise crossed five states and one country covering 27 river systems.

The ship sailed through the states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal and Assam. It entered Assam on February 17 via Dhaka, Bangladesh.

The cruise covered almost 1,100km in Bangladesh before re-entering India under the Indo-Bangladesh Protocol on Inland Water Transit and Trade.

During the journey, the onboard tourists visited 50 tourist spots including world heritage sites, national parks, river ghats, and major cities like Patna in Bihar, Sahibganj in Jharkhand, Kolkata in West Bengal, Dhaka in Bangladesh and Guwahati in Assam.

According to Journey Plus, which is responsible for conducting the trip for the Bangladesh part, cruisers visited Sundarbans, 60 Dome Mosque in Bagerhat, tourist spots in Barishal, historic places in Sonargaon and Dhaka, Atiya Mosque in Tangail and other places during the 14-day-Bangladesh-visit.

As per the official statement, the luxury cruise has three decks, and 18 suites onboard with a capacity of 36 tourists.

The maiden voyage had 28 tourists from Switzerland signing up for the entire journey, it added.

Reportedly, there will be  two more cruises between Guwahati and Dhaka in May and October next.