A paddle steamer with a heritage value, floating in the Hooghly river in Kolkata, will soon open to people looking to spend some quality time near the serene waters. Named PS Bhopal, the steamer originally built in 1944 in the United Kingdom’s Dumbarton Shipyard was being used as a training vessel by the Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port, Kolkata (erstwhile Kolkata Port Trust).
After its lease agreement with the training institute ended in 2019, SMP Kolkata wanted to open the vessel to the public after refurbishing it, as it was in a dilapidated condition then and also did not have its own propulsion, SMP Kolkata chairman Vinit Kumar said in a press release issued by the Union Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Tuesday.
Accordingly, the port went for a long-term lease of the vessel measuring about 63 m in length and 9.2 m in breadth.
Floating Restaurant, Exhibition Space
SMP Kolkata is now planning to inaugurate the refurbished vessel early September, according to Kumar.
No alteration has been done to its basic structure to retain the original feel of the 1944-built vessel, said to be the first of its kind in the Indian subcontinent. The steamer now has new main engines with propulsion so it can move in the river with passengers on board, the ministry said in the press release.
The lease condition mandates the vessel to remain in the river, moored near the shore or the jetty. Self-propelled with own power, the vessel will have an exhibition space, a restaurant, a small assembly area among other recreational facilities.
Work on the vessel is about to be completed and a few river trials have already taken place to ensure its operational safety with passengers on board.
According to the ministry, the long-term lease was selected through an open tender, with the condition that PS Bhopal would remain a property of SMP Kolkata throughout the lease period.