Ship With 31 Foreign Tourists Embarks On Brahmaputra Odyssey In Assam, Union Min Calls It 'Watershed Moment'

Assam News: The MV Kindat Pandaw ship embarks on a pristine Brahmaputra odyssey from Assam’s Dhubri. The 21-day international river cruise sojourn is likely to culminate at the Pandu port in Guwahati

The MV Kindat Pandaw ship embarks on a pristine Brahmaputra odyssey where the rich cultural and social heritage of Assam will be displayed to 31 tourists. ( Image Source :Special Arrangement )

Guwahati: MV Kindat Pandaw, the ship carrying the second international voyage after the success of Ganga Vilas, anchored at Assam’s Dhubri on Friday after completing its journey via the Indo-Bangladesh Protocol Route. The ship embarks on a pristine Brahmaputra odyssey from here on, where the rich cultural and social heritage of Assam will be displayed to the 31 tourists from Canada, Australia, Switzerland, the United States (USA), and the United Kingdom (UK).

The 21-day international river cruise sojourn is likely to culminate at the Pandu port in Guwahati, as per an official press release.

Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal said, “This is a watershed moment in the resurgence of the inland waterways in Assam. Our ministry has been working tirelessly to explore the economic potential of Brahmaputra and that too, a viable one. With the successive arrival of international cruise vessels, we are slowly but steadily building a strong ecosystem for the river cruise tourism industry to thrive and unlock economic growth in the region.”

(Image Source: Special Arrangement)

“The interest from the international tourists has been encouraging as they will be amazed by the fresh natural beauty that Assam has. The tourists will have an opportunity to soak in an immersive experience through this voyage and explore the art, culture, history, and spirituality of India and Bangladesh along the entire route. With these successful voyages, it gives us a lot of resolve to work further to unlock the huge economic potential that Brahmaputra possesses by optimising our rich riverine economy,” Sonowal added.

The journey began from West Bengal’s Kolkata on October 24 this year and reached Dhaka in Bangladesh on November 3. At the zero point near Dhubri, after crossing the international border from Bangladesh, the ship has already covered a distance of 1,310 kilometres in 18 days. The journey is likely to be completed when MV Kindat Pandaw docks at the Pandu port by November 12 or 13, the release said.

The maiden international as well as the world’s longest river cruise started earlier this year when Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off the Ganga Vilas from Uttar Pradesh’s Varanasi. After traversing through the Indian states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, and West Bengal as well as Bangladesh, it arrived at Dhubri in Assam on its 39-day voyage. Dubbed the longest river cruise in the world, the Varanasi to Bogibeel voyage completed the journey on February 28, 2023, when it anchored at Bogibeel in Assam’s Dibrugarh district, drawing a close to its 51-day cruise, it said.  

Beyond the international river cruises, there have been many cruises which have been operating in Assam. MV Charaideo, MV Sukapha, and MV Mahabahu are regularly ferrying many international tourists from Guwahati to Silghat in the Nagaon district, ensuring a bustling river cruise sector in Assam, the statement added.

Northeast has a huge potential for freight carriage through the national waterways. These national waterways provide hinterland connectivity to Assam, Nagaland, Tripura, Manipur, Mizoram, and Arunachal Pradesh, thus connecting these states with mainland India and sea ports of Kolkata and Haldia through the Indo-Bangladesh Protocol Route, the release further said.

The writer is a senior independent journalist covering the Northeast.

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