GUWAHATI: The fare of the world's longest river cruise will blow your mind.
The per day per person charge on MV Ganga Vilas, which will set sail from Varanasi and anchor in Assam's Dibrugarh, is $300 (Rs 24692.25), Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways and Ayush Sarbananda Sonowal told reporters in Guwahati on Monday. He said the fare is the same for Indians and foreigners.
The cruise, which Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch on January 13, will reach Dibrugarh after covering a distance of more than 3,200 km in a voyage that will last 51 days and cost $153000 (Rs 12.59 lakh plus).
The ship -- 62 metres long and 12 metres wide -- has three decks, 18 suites with a capacity of 36 passengers and all amenities to provide a luxurious experience.
Sonowal said all 36 passengers are Swiss nationals. Fourteen of them will deboard in Kolkata and another 14 will board it, he said.
"The cruise will pass through Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Bangladesh and Assam. It will halt at 50 places in these Indian states and Bangladesh. The tourists will visit local cultural and heritage sites during stopover," Sonowal said.
In Assam, the cruise will halt at Dhubri, Jogighopa, Pandu in Guwahati, Kaziranga, Nimati and Majuli before anchoring in Dibrugarh.
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"Ganga Vilas will open up a new vista for tourism in the country. Inland waterways got a push under PM Modiji. He wanted that not just cargo and passenger vessels, there should be cruises too, so the foreign tourists can discover India's cultures, civilisations and landscapes on the banks of the Ganges and the Brahmaputra," Sonowal said.
He was optimistic with this cruise service, Assam and the other states in the Northeast would benefit and that the cruise industry would develop.
To help vessel operators, the central government will build a ship-repairing centre at the Pandu terminal under the Cochin Shipyard Limited.
"The operators of vessels in Assam are required to go to Kolkata to get their ships repaired. The entire process takes about four-five months. The ship-repairing facility at the Pandu terminal will save their time and money," Sonowal said, exuding confidence that the efforts being taken by the central government would open up a new avenue of investment in river cruise tourism.
MV Ganga Vilas is a product of the Antara Luxury River Cruises.