By IANS,
Lucknow: The first ever Kolkata to Varanasi cruise on the Ganga river ran into rough weather, when a snag in the vessel compelled the tour operator to conclude the trip at Ghazipur in Uttar Pradesh, 60 km short of the destination.
The 40 foreign tourist, who set out on the maiden trip from Kolkata Sep 29 for the much hyped 12-day cruise, were eventually driven by taxis Saturday from Ghazipur to Varanasi, where they were awaiting the arrival of the vessel, now being repaired.
“Drawn from Australia, New Zealand and different European countries, the tourists were lodged in a local hotel in Varanasi, where they were taken around to visit key locations; they would also visit Sarnath on Monday following which they would proceed on the return journey Tuesday,” a spokesman of the cruise operator told IANS over telephone from Varanasi, about 300 km from here.
Unfazed by the hindrance, he said: “It was a minor snag in the engine of the vessel that led us to conclude the cruise at Ghazipur; but we have not abandoned the trip and it will set out on the return journey by Tuesday.”
Having started the trip from Kolkata Sep 29, the cruise made halts at Murshidabad and Malda in West Bengal, and at Rajgarh, Vikramshila, Nalanda, Gaya and Patna in Bihar, before hitting the snag just before final destination at Varanasi.
The first of its kind cruise was seen as a potential tourism attraction. And the success of the cruise would encourage tour operators to open other routes too for such trips with a view to popularize cruising in India, tourism experts felt.