Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will flag off the world’s longest river cruise – named Ganga Vilas – from Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh to Dibrugarh in Assam via Bangladesh on January 13.
The entire journey will take around 50 days, crossing 27 river systems, including Ganga-Bhagirathi-Hooghly, Brahmaputra and West Coast Canal in India. The cruise will reportedly travel 1,100 km in Bangladesh, reports the Times of India.
Quoting PM Modi, the Times of India reports that the cruise will cover 50 major tourist sites, along with some heritage sites, such as the famous Ganga Aarti at Varanasi and sanctuaries such as Kaziranga National Park and the Sundarbans Delta.
Earlier, the Indian Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal tweeted that the cruise will take visitors from Varanasi to Dibrugarh via Bangladesh, covering 4,000 km on the rivers Ganga and Brahmaputra.
According to the official website, Ganga Vilas — with a capacity of 80 passengers — is a luxury river cruise vessel with 18 suites and all other associated facilities.
“Built with a unique design and a futuristic vision, this cruise will meander across various prominent destinations that lie along Kolkata’s River Hooghly to Varanasi’s River Ganges,” says the website.
Referring to a timetable released earlier, Indian Express reports that the Ganga Vilas Cruise will start its journey from Varanasi and will reach Patna on the 8th day, passing through Buxar, Ramnagar and Ghazipur.
From Patna, the cruise will set sail for Kolkata and will reach the West Bengal capital on the 20th day via Farakka and Murshidabad.
The next day, it will set off for Dhaka and enter the Bangladesh border. It will remain in the country waters for the next 15 days.
Finally, it will go back to India through Guwahati before sailing through Sibsagar and reaching its final destination at Dibrugarh.
