World’s longest cruise MV Ganga Vilas reaches Dibrugarh; completes 50-day river journey

PTI, Feb 28, 2023, 4:23 PM IST

The world’s longest river cruise MV Ganga Vilas on Tuesday reached Dibrugarh, concluding its 50-day river journey that began from Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh.

On January 13, Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off the cruise from Varanasi.

During its journey, the cruise crossed 5 states namely Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal and Assam. It entered Assam on February 17 via Dhaka, Bangladesh. Ganga Vilas covered 3,200 kilometre across 27 river systems.

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.

The tourists, including from Switzerland, of the cruise were welcomed by Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal along with Shripad Yesso Naik, Minister of State for Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Rameshwar Teli, MoS Labour and Employment, Petroleum and Natural Gas.

According to an official statement, the luxury cruise has three decks, 18 suites onboard with a capacity of 36 tourists.

The maiden voyage had 32 tourists from Switzerland signing up for the entire journey, it added.