MV Ganga Vilas culminates maiden trip at Dibrugarh

Guwahati, Feb 28: : Welcoming ‘MV Ganga Vilas’, the world’s longest river cruise at its culminating destination in Dibrugarh, Sarbananda Sonowal, Union minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways (MoPSW) hailed it as a path-breaking event to be witnessed in the Inland Waterways sector since India’s Independence 75 years ago.

 MV Ganga Vilas arrived at Bogibeel at 02:30 PM today; as the dignitaries led by the Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal accorded a warm welcome to all the 28 foreign tourists travelling on board. With the successful end of its maiden journey covering a distance of over 3200 kms, the MV Ganga Vilas opens up a new vista of opportunity in the river tourism potential in the entire South Asia region.

 Earlier, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi had flagged off MV Ganga Vilas - the first indigenously made cruise vessel in India - from Varanasi on January 13, 2023. Built with a unique design and a futuristic vision, the cruise has three decks and 18 suites on board with a capacity of 36 tourists. It is already booked for to and fro journey for the next two years

Sonowal said, “The successful completion of world longest river cruise, MV Ganga Vilas, has exemplified how India under the leadership of PM Narendra Modi is ready to explore newer horizons to unlock value for the country. The robustness of the ship during the course of this journey shows how our tremendous strength in ship building capacity is a world class enterprise.”

 ‘MV Ganga Vilas’ has put India and Bangladesh on the river cruise map of the world. It has opened a new vista and vertical for tourism and freight carriage in the Indian sub-continent. Tourists, both domestic and global who would like to experience spirituality now have the opportunity to visit destinations like Kashi, Bodh Gaya, Vikramshila, Patna Sahib and those who want to explore the natural diversity will cover destinations like Sundarbans and Kaziranga. 

The seamless movement of MV Ganga Vilas has established the viability of seamless movement of vessels between Ganga Valley and Brahmaputra Valley.