MV Ganga Vilas Docked, Not Stuck In Bihar, Clarifies Waterways Official
A member of the team making arrangements, Chhapra's CO Satendra Singh, stated that adequate arrangements have been made for the tourists in Chirand.
According to the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) on Monday, the flagship Ganga Vilas Cruise, which was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi last week, arrived in Patna on time and was not stuck in Chhapra, reported news agency ANI. Sanjay Bandopadhyaya, Chairman of IWAI, stated that the vessel, MV Ganga Vilas, will continue its scheduled journey.
"The Ganga Villas reached Patna as per schedule. There is absolutely no truth in the news that the vessel is stuck in Chhapra. The vessel will continue its onwards journey as per schedule" IWAI said in a tweet quoting Bandopadhyaya.
Chhapra's CO Satendra Singh said local journalists earlier misquoted him. "Local journalists have misquoted me, I just said SDRF (State Disaster Response Force) boats were at the spot as a precautionary move. There is no obstacle of any kind," Singh told ANI.
Additionally, the vessel's operators stated that it is not stuck and technically cannot reach the shore.
"(Where) river is not deep, you have to use shallow boats to get off and on to see the site. The main ship stays in the main channel where there is water. This is what happened here. It is the norm. This is the normal thing," Raj Singh, Chairman, Exotic Heritage Group, told ANI.
Earlier, ther were reports of vessel stucking on the third day of its 51-day journey in Chhapra, Bihar, due to Ganga's "shallow water".
The most significant archaeological site in the district is Chirand Saran, which can be found close to Doriganj Bazar, 11 kilometres southeast of Chhapra. It is thought that the fillings for the stupas that are built on the banks of the Ghaghra river have Hindu, Buddhist, and Muslim influences. However, officials claimed that bringing the cruise to the shore was challenging because of the shallow water.
A member of the team making arrangements, Chhapra's CO Satendra Singh, stated that adequate arrangements have been made for the tourists in Chirand.
“SDRF team is stationed at the ghat so that immediate action can be taken on any untoward situation. Due to less water, there is a problem in bringing the cruise to the shore. Therefore, efforts are being made to bring tourists through small boats,” he said.
Additionally, Ganga Vilas Cruise has unique features. It travels upstream at up to 12 kilometres per hour and downstream at 20 kilometres per hour. The cruise has a sewage treatment plant and an RO system for drinking water. The cruise has everything people need to be comfortable and satisfy their needs. In India, it costs Rs 25,000 per day, while in Bangladesh, it costs Rs 50,000 per day.
On January 13, PM Modi launched the cruise from Varanasi.
From Varanasi to Dibrugarh in Assam, the luxury triple-deck cruise will travel on the longest waterway in the world. With 18 suits, the cruise can accommodate 80 passengers.
This cruise will travel through Bangladesh for 15 days and take an adventurous 51 days.
It will then travel through Assam's Brahmaputra River to Dibrugarh.
The luxury cruise will travel through five states in India and Bangladesh, covering more than 3,200 kilometres.
The 27 river systems from Bangladesh, Assam, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and West Bengal will be traversed during this cruise. Ganga, Meghna, and Brahmaputra are the three major rivers that the cruise will pass through.
The cruise will pass through the Bengali river systems of the Bhagirathi, Hooghly, Bidyavati, Malata, and Sundarbans.
It will enter the Brahmaputra in Assam after passing through Meghna, Padma, and Jamuna in Bangladesh.
The 51-day cruise is planned to visit 50 tourist destinations, 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, according to an official statement.
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