Guwahati: A new luxury river cruise service is slated to launch between Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh and Dibrugarh in Assam through Kolkata and the Indo Bangladesh Protocol Route, providing a big boost to the development of river tourism in Assam.
During the International Cruise Conference 2022 in Mumbai, the Inland Waterways Authority of India, Antara Luxury River Cruises, and JM Baxi River Cruises signed a memorandum of understanding to that end.
Union Minister of Ports, Shipping & Waterways and Ayush, Sarbananda Sonowal, and the Union Minister of Tourism, Culture, and Development of North-eastern Region (DONER), Gangapuram Kisan Reddy were present at the historic event, which saw eight major Memorandums of Understanding signed to boost river cruise tourism in the country.
The Inland Waterways Authority of India or IWAI signed two Memorandums of Understanding with Antara Luxury River Cruises and JM Baxi River Cruises to establish river cruise service between Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh and Bogibeel in Dibrugarh of Assam.
The Government of India has set out Rs. 648.80 crores to establish ten projects under the Coastal Thematic Circuits programme.