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World’s longest luxury yacht to launch from Varanasi in January (Representative photo)
Photo: Twitter
Starting from January 10, the cruise will cover 4,000-km long and will take 50 days to complete the journey to Varanasi. It will pass through Kolkata and Dhaka before reaching Bogibeel in Dibrugarh district of the eastern Indian state of Assam on March 1, according to a report published in LiveMint.
“Choosing Ganga Vilas will sail from Varanasi to Dibrugarh on the longest river cruise of 50 days covering 27 river systems and will visit more than 50 tourist destinations including World Heritage Sites. This will be the largest single river cruise of one river ship in the world, and it will put both India and Bangladesh on the world river travel map,” Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal said in an interview to Mint.
The Varanasi-Dibrugarh route is expected to be run on a public-private partnership (PPP) basis. The Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) has signed an agreement with Antara Luxury River Cruises and JM Baxi River Cruises for the initiative. The ticket prices will be decided by the operators without the Centre’s interference, the report added.
“The service will facilitate all types of tourists. Moreover, with the amendment of the Indian Vessel Act, tourist lines will have national approval to cross the states seamlessly,” added Sonowal.
After the amendment of the Indian Vessel Act, the vessels will get national permission to cross the states seamlessly, he added.
The ferry will start from Varanasi and reach Patna on the 8th day via Buxar, Ramnagar, and Ghazipur. The boat will travel around 1,100 km in Bangladesh before entering India. This will be possible under the Indo-Bangladesh Protocol Road, which has already opened trade and transport channels connecting the two countries along the Ganga and Brahamaputra rivers.
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