On the third day of its 51-day journey, the Ganga Vilas Cruise, which was flagged by Prime Minister Narendra Modi last week, got stuck in Bihar’s Chhapra on Monday due to shallow water in the Ganga.
Meanwhile, the cruise was supposed to visit Chirand, an archaeological site, but it got stuck due to a lack of water in the Ganges near the Doriganj area of the district.
However, to rescue the tourists, the SDRF team reached the spot by small boat. Chhapra’s CO, Satendra Singh, said, “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 by small boats.
Talking about the cruise, it is equipped with all facilities, like an RO system for drinking water, along with a sewage treatment plant that costs Rs 25,000 a day and Rs 50,000 a day for Bangladesh.
Earlier on 13 January, PM Modi flagged off the cruise from Varanasi, and it will travel from Varanasi to Dibrugarh in Assam through the waterway.
However, through 27 river systems in UP, Bihar, West Bengal, Bangladesh, and Assam, the cruise will pass through three major rivers—the Ganga, Meghna, and Brahmaputra—and in 51 days, it will visit 50 tourist spots.