The world’s longest luxury river cruise MV Ganga Vilas has reached Patna and the vessel will continue its onward journey as per schedule.
The government said on Monday while debunking reports that the vessel was stuck in Chhapra. The Ministry of Ports, Shipping, and Waterways in a release stated that the cruise vessel sailed as per its schedule on National Waterways 1. Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) chairman Sanjay Bandopadhyaya also rebuked news reports that claimed the vessel was stuck in Chhapra.
“There is absolutely no truth in the news that the vessel is stuck at Chhapra. The anchoring place and mode of transport of tourists to the bank are decided by the cruise operator depending on the safety and privacy of its passengers,” the ports, shipping, and waterways ministry said.
The cruise vessel sailed as per its schedule on National Waterways 1 (NW-1) anchoring at Ghazipur on January 13, 2023, Buxar on January 14, 2023 and Mauzampur (Arrah) on January 15 2023.
After stopping at Doriganj on January 16, 2023 the cruise vessel reached Patna on January 16 ,2023 at 4.45 PM, the release said, adding that all through its journey the waterway levels were fully maintained and monitored for the required draft of with navigation facilities.
Who is the owner of Ganga Vilas Cruise?
The world’s largest river cruise is owned by Raj Singh, CEO, and founder of Antara Luxury River Cruises which built the cruise. Raj Singh has been in this industry for 15 years. So far, his company has made 9 luxury cruises. He is a well-known conservationist and wildlife author.
About the cruise
The MV Ganga Vilas vessel is 62 meters in length, and 12 meters in width, and comfortably sail with a draft of 1.4 meters. Prime Minister Modi flagged off MV Ganga Vilas for its maiden voyage with 32 tourists from Switzerland.
MV Ganga Vilas is the first-ever cruise vessel made in India. The luxury cruise has three decks and 18 suites on board with a capacity of 36 tourists with all the luxury amenities.
MV Ganga Vilas vessel is 62 meters in length, and 12 meters in width and comfortably sails with a draft of 1.4 meters.
For this journey, one has spent Rs 20-25 lakh. Reports suggest tickets for the cruise have already been sold out till March 2024.
The cruise has all the necessary facilities for the convenience of the people and their needs. Its fare in India is Rs 25,000 a day, while in Bangladesh the fare is Rs 50,000 a day.
It is the world’s longest river cruise, inaugurated from Varanasi on January 13, and will reach Dibrugarh (Assam) via Bangladesh with 39 passengers in 51 days.
The luxury cruise will cover a distance of more than 3,200 kms and pass through 5 states in India and Bangladesh.
According to an official statement, the 51 days cruise is planned with visits to 50 tourist spots including World Heritage Sights, 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.
However, one will have to wait for more than a year to get a suite in the luxury ship, which will cruise across 17 river systems as it is fully booked till March 2024.
The ship has 39 crew members and its captain is Mahadev Naik who has more than 35 years of experience.
However, there is a concern for the dolphins who will be at risk, and a netizen, Wilfred Quadros tweets, “Ravindra Kumar Sinha whose conservation efforts led the government to designate Gangetic dolphins as a protected species in the 1990s are at risk of extinction.”
Ravindra Kumar Sinha whose conservation efforts led the government to designate Gangetic dolphins as a protected species in the 1990s are at risk of extinction.#GangaVilasCruise pic.twitter.com/4VoUOZYdMM
— Wilfred Quadros (@WilfredQuadros1) January 15, 2023