Carrying 28 Swiss tourists Ganga Vilas arrives at Guwahati

Guwahati: The world’s longest river cruise Ganga Villas on Monday arrived in Guwahati with 28 Swiss tourists, 42 days after it started its journey from Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh.

The ship, which is on its maiden voyage, anchored at Pandu Port of the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) here along the Saraighat Bridge.
Additional Chief Secretary Maninder Singh, Kamrup Metro Deputy Commissioner Pally Gopal Jha and IWAI Regional Director A Selvakumar welcomed the tourists.

After disembarking, the Swiss tourists were served tea and treated to a colorful folk dance performance by groups from the Karbi and Tiwa communities.
The Swiss tourists will visit the famous Kamakhya Temple and the Assam State Museum on Tuesday morning before leaving for their onward journey to Mayong in Morigaon district.

On the first day, the tourists visited Sualkuchi, the center of Assam’s textile and handloom industry, to witness the traditional Moga and pat silk, unique to the state.
Flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the cruise departed from Varanasi on 13 January 2023 and reached Dhubri in Assam via the Indian states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal as well as Bangladesh. February 17.
The journey is scheduled to complete its journey by March 1 when it reaches Bugibeel in Assam’s Dibrugarh district.

Earlier, Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal had termed the vessel’s arrival at Dhubri as a watershed moment in inland waterway transport towards Northeast India’s transformation.