Shyamhari Chakra
Close on the heels of its unique introduction of the heritage tram-library service, West Bengal Transportation (WBTC) has launched another major attraction for the tourists to explore and experience the heritage of Kolkata through its river cruise.
The cruise operates daily from Millennium Park at 4pm and 6pm while two more trips are offered on holidays, Saturdays and Sunday at noon and 2pm.
What has made this cruise the talk of the town has been its price that is set at an incredibly low of Rs.39 to enjoy the 90-minute river-ride.
Though river cruise was offered by private players on both sides of the Hoogly river at Howrah and Kolkata, the trips were expensive for the common people to afford. WBTC offer would enable them to enjoy the ride with just Rs.39 per person, said the officials.
While guides would be available on board to narrate the importance of the ferry ghats on both sides of the river that the cruise would be crossing en route, each visitor will be offered a complimentary heritage navigation brochure as a souvenir that they would take back home.
The vessel would pass beneath the magnificent Howrah Bridge and sail ahead across a number of ghats that have interesting anecdotes to be told to the guests.
While Mayer ghat – Mother’s ghat – that takes its name after Maa Sarada Devi, wife of saint Shri Ramakrishna Paramhamsa, used to be visited by the Maa daily during her 11 years of stay nearby; Nimtala ghat is the landmark where cremation of Rabindranath Tagore was performed.
Similarly, Chandpal ghat is known as the spot where Lord Cornwallis, the first Governor General of India, had landed in 1786. The other ghat in the itinerary is the Armenian ghat that was built 1734 by a trader from Armenian.
WBTC plans to offer special booking arrangements for educational tours in the future, the officials revealed.
In keeping with the Covid guidelines of the Government, adequate safety measures are being followed by the cruise service in maintenance of sanitisation and social distancing while the maximum number of persons per ride has been limited to 150 at present, they added.
