MV Ganga Vilas' second sail from Dibrugarh to Kolkata with 15 Swiss tourists

Dibrugarh: MV Ganga Vilas - the ship with distinction of covering longest river cruise journey in the world - will embark on a 30-day voyage to Kolkata on Thursday with 15 Swiss tourists, Raj Singh, Chairman of Antara Luxury Cruises said.

Antara Luxury Cruises owns and operates the world's longest river cruise MV Ganga Vilas which reached Dibrugarh in Assam on Tuesday, covering 3,200-kilometer river journey.

Speaking to PTI, Singh said the next journey of the ship is from Dibrugarh to Kolkata via Dhaka, Bangladesh.

There will be around 10-15 Swiss tourists onboard the ship wherein they will experience various Indian cuisines and cultures, he said.

The ship will cover a distance of 2,200 kilometre in the journey beginning Thursday, Singh said adding the cruise will take multiple haults at select locations for tourists.

On Tuesday, Sarbananda Sonowal, Union Minister of Shipping, Ports and Waterways welcomed the Swiss and German tourists, and crew of MV Ganga Vilas which reached Dibrugarh.

The 50-day journey of MV Ganga Vilas has put India and Bangladesh on the river cruise map of the world, Sonowal said.

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.

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.