Patna: The Bihar state tourism development corporation (BSTDC) is all set to relaunch the river cruise facility for fun-loving people in Ganga at Patna and Bhagalpur by the month (August)-end. The process to select qualified agencies to operate the ships and arrange adequate facilities aboard the vessels is in final stages, said an official familiar with the matter.
As per the agreement signed between, BSTDC and the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI), two river vessels have reached Patna and Bhagalpur on August 3. Each ship has seating capacity for 300 persons and space for cafeteria. “We will do minor fabrication in the ships to infuse an essence of local culture before launching the service,” said the BSTDC official.
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The BSTDC and the IWAI had on July 24 inking a pact launching river cruise facilities at the two locations, under which the later body had agreed to arrange the vessels. The MoU was by managing director of BSTDC Nand Kishore and director of AWAI LK Rajak in the presence of secretary, tourism, Abhay Kumar Singh at the tourism directorate.
The earlier river cruise facility in Patna, launched by the BSTDC, had been suspended since September 2017 after the vessel had developed major technical snag.
The new river vessel can be booked for hosting parties, auspicious programs, social gatherings and other meetings etc. The cruise vessel at Patna will operate between Janardan Ghat, Digha, Patna and Kangan Ghat, Patna City. Another cruise allotted to Bhagalpur will sail around Vikramshila (dolphin sanctuary) via Bhagalpur’s Kahalgaon, Sultanganj, Bateshwar Asthan. The vessel will take a tour of the Ganga Ghats of Patna and Bhagalpur at a speed of about 15 km per hour.
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Tourists will be able to visit Takht Sri Harimandir Sahib, the birthplace of Guru Gobind Singh, from Kanganghat as well after booking the tickets.
A total of 45,000 square feet of land has been made available by Patna district administration for the parking of Row Pax Vessels, near Janardan Ghat, Digha and at Kangan Ghat, Patna City. In Bhagalpur, a plot measuring 0.41 hectare have been allocated for the cruise vessel parking at Sultanganj in Bhagalpur.
