Bhubaneswar: The four Catamaran Luxury Boats at Bhitarkanika which have been non-operational for quite a long time would finally see a new dawn. The department of tourism has engaged New Delhi based Heritage River Journeys Pvt Ltd, one of the leading luxury cruise companies in India to refurbish and operate the boats as luxury overnight cruise boats in Bhitarkanika.
The luxury boats were handed over to the Tourism department in July this year.
A tendering process was done inviting interested bidders to manage the four luxury boats in Bhitarkanika and Heritage River Journeys Pvt Ltd won the bid. The department of tourism signed an agreement with the company on 30 October for the beginning of the work.
The boats were bought in 2014 from Goa at an expenditure of Rs 4 crore under Integrated Coastal Zone Management Project (ICZMP) and were to be managed by the forest department. However, they failed to run it due to lack of trained crew. In 2016, the forest department engaged Kerala-based Samudra Shipyards Private Limited to operate the boats which they did for a few months but since 2018 the luxury boats are non-operational.
The tourism department official are hopeful that luxury overnight cruise boats in Bhitarkanika could be another major attraction for tourists.
Heritage River Journeys Pvt Ltd have done lots of river cruise projects in the country which includes on River Ganges, Brahmaputra among others.
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