The Ganga Cruise is the world’s longest river cruise, traveling 3,200 kilometers (1,988 miles) of waterway in India and Bangladesh. It is operated by Antara, a company owned and operated by Indian entrepreneur Ankit Agarwal.
The three-deck MV Ganga Vilas has 18 suites and can carry up to 36 passengers. The cruise will take 51 days, covering 27 river systems and visiting national parks, UNESCO World Heritage sites and big cities along the way.
Tickets cost between 4.2 million to 4.5 million rupees ($51,114-$54,765) and the cruise has already sold out for its two scheduled sailings in 2024. The cruise itinerary includes stops in Bangladesh’s capital Dhaka, the Sundarbans mangrove forest, and India’s Kaziranga National Park
The Ganga Cruise is part of a burgeoning trend that could bring more visitors to India. It is part of the government's major program of infrastructure initiatives and aims to increase the opportunities for river cruise tourism in India.
Akhilesh Yadav, president of the Samajwadi Party, accused the government of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of fabricating claims that the luxury river cruise MV Ganga Vilas was the first of its kind.
Apparently the cruise isn't new and has been running for many years. The govt has just added in a few new features and declared it a new cruise.
Netizens were also shocked to hear that the cruise travelling on the holy river will have a fully stocked bar.
He spoke to the media and stated, "This water cruise has been running for many years, this is not new. I've been told by someone that it has only had a few new parts added to it in the past 17 years, and that they have started it."
According to conservationists and environmentalists, the Ganges river dolphin's (Platanista gangetica) habitat could be permanently damaged by the rise in cruises. Along with Platanista minor, also known as the Indus river dolphin, which can be found in Pakistan and the Beas River in north India, Platanista gangetica is one of the two freshwater dolphin species that can be found in south Asia.
The cruises could be a dangerous proposition in addition to all the existing risks for the dolphins. There are also views that Gangetic dolphins might end up like China's Baiji dolphins, which were declared functionally extinct in 2006 because of more people using the Yangtze River. The dolphins, which are sensitive to noise, will undoubtedly be severely affected by cruise ship disturbances.
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