MV Ganga Vilas on River Brahmaputra in Assam (PIB)The world’s longest river cruise, MV Ganga Vilas, arrived at Dhubri in Assam on Friday (17 February).
“MV Ganga Vilas arrived at zero point on the Indo-Bangladesh border this morning at around 10:30 AM after which it sailed further 32 kms to reach Dhubri port at 04:00 PM today. The cruise vessel is being escorted by survey vessel SL Subansiri throughout its journey from the zero point upto Pandu port,” the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways said in a statement on Friday.
Upon arrival at Dhubri, the ship was anchored on the River Brahmaputra and the guests were taken via MV Pratima to the reach jetty at Dhubri Customs Port for immigration clearance.
The 28 tourists travelling on this landmark voyage, were received by the Deputy Commissioner of Dhubri along with Regional Director of Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI).
Many Self Help Groups (SHGs) from the area put up stalls where the tourists witnessed the local crafts like products made of jute, artefacts made of Terracotta, and Kuhila were widely displayed.
MV Ganga Vilas resumed its onward journey from Dhubri to Goalpara around noon today (18 February).
Terming the arrival of Ganga Vilas cruise ship at Dhubri in Assam as a ‘watershed moment,’ Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal said that MV Ganga Vilas is set to unlock huge potential of river tourism, allowing trickle down development for people across the bank of the Brahmaputra.
Flagged off by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the historic cruise set sail from Varanasi on 13 January and after traversing through Indian states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal as well as neighbouring Bangladesh, arrived at Dhubri in Assam on its 39th day of the 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 on 1st March, when it anchors at Bogibeel in Dibrugarh drawing a close to its 51 day cruise.