M V Mahabaahu, the first ever tourist cruise on the India-Bangladesh river route which left the shore off the Brahmaputra here on Monday will have rivers, sandbars, wildlife and ancient architecture in its 17-day sojourn to Kolkata via Bangladesh.
The luxury cruise left the Pandu port here with 30 people on board including nine foreign tourists.
The three Unesco World Heritage Sites – Sundarbans, Mosque City of Bagerhat (Bangladesh) and Manas National Park in Assam are among its three major stopovers.
“Those on board will enjoy the trans-boundary landscape of lower Assam -Bangladesh- and southern part of West Bengal. Our effort is to offer the tourists to experience this ‘off the beaten path’ on the deliciously lush landscape of multiple hues of greens where more than 700 rivers braid through the country. Travelling by boat is a way of life here and provide a fabulous opportunity to see the country differently. Bangladesh isn’t a tick-the-sight-off-the-list type of destination in the world. This will allow the country to reveal its intricate weave of majority Muslims, Christian Adivasi tribal, Buddhists and Hindu cultures. Hilsa fishing with otters, floating markets and clay pottery is part and parcel of Bangla life,” Neena Morada, the cruise director of M V Mahabaahu, said.
In October last year, India and Bangladesh signed a new river route protocol, according to which tourist vessels from Assam will sail through Bangladesh for Kolkata.
MV Mahabaahu is a joint venture of Adventure Resorts & Cruises Private Limited and Assam Tourism Development Corporation.
The official inauguration of the cruise service, however, was postponed due to the code of conduct for Lok Sabha elections. The Brahmaputra is part of the National Waterways-2 of the Inland Waterways Authority of India.
During the 1,250-km journey through five major rivers dotted with numerous sandbars, the tourists will enjoy the beauty of Sundarbans, the largest mangrove of the world which is house to the Royal Bengal tigers, the Gangetic and Irrawaddy dolphins and crocodiles.
The UNESCO Cultural World Heritage Site of the Mosque City of Bagerhat, famous as the ‘mint town of the Bengal Sultanate’ or Khalifabad at the confluence of Ganga and Brahmaputra in Khulna division of Bangladesh is another important stopover.
“They can also enjoy jeep and elephant safari inside Manas National Park in Assam, another World Heritage Site. It is famous for 55 mammals and 420 species of birds. It is also home to Royal Bengal tigers, golden langurs, capped langur, hoolock gibbons, one-horned rhinos, barasingha, wild water buffaloes and four types of hornbills,” Morada said. Source Deccan Herald
