India-Bangladesh To Start Cruise Tourism Via Picturesque Sunderbans
Bilateral secretary-level meetings between India and Bangladesh were held in October. It has been decided that one of the river cruise operators would be starting operations from March 2019 from Kolkata through Sunderbans via the protocol route to Bangladesh and then to the northeast,” Member, Inland Waterways Authority of India, SVK Reddy said.
Reddy was in Kolkata to attend a transport seminar organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) recently. Bangladesh shipping secretary Abdus Samsah had initially stated that private players will be allowed to operate a river cruise between India and Bangladesh, which will cover about 1,539 km.
Both sides also agreed to permit private operators to run cruise to Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh. Reddy said night navigation facility has been installed up to the Indian border while Bangladesh is expected to do the same. He said India has agreed to fund up to 80% of the dredging expenses in some identified stretches within Bangladesh to make it navigable.
Source: https://eurasiantimes.com