WBTDC Designs River Cruise Along The Hoogly For ‘Durga Puja’

Joy Roy Choudhury -Kolkata

For the first time, West Bengal Tourism along with West Bengal Tourism Development Corporation (WBTDC), a state government undertaking has designed a special river cruise during the four-day Durga Puja on river Hooghly.

“This unique river cruise has been specially designed for those who plan to celebrate the festival away from the city. It will also prove to be a boon for senior citizens who find it difficult to move around the crowded city during the festival, mentioned S N Bhattacharjee, managing director, West Bengal Tourism Development Corporation (WBTDC).

He further added that, “The tastefully decorated and illuminated launches owned by WBTDC, M V Sarbajaya and MV Sumangal will take the revellers to Belur Math, the international headquarters of Ramakrishna Mission from Outram Ghat on the city’s strands. The Durga Puja held at Belur Math attracts lakhs of devotees from different parts of the country. As the ferry takes its own course, the guests will be treated to a sample of the mouth-watering Bengali ‘Puja’ dishes on the deck. To complete the puja experience, WBTDC has arranged for a Durga Puja on board the launch right in the middle of the river. A small idol of Goddess Durga will be placed at one side of the deck, where it will be worshipped according to orthodox Hindu rituals,” said Bhattacharjee.

Tourists coming from other parts of the country and the world will witness different rituals associated with the festival. The guests will witness ‘Sandhya Arati’ in the evening of ‘Mahaashtami’, the most important day of the festival, the famed ‘Dhunochi Naach’, the offering of the ‘Bhog’ etc. Throwing light on the event further, Bhattacharjee said, “As per the plan, the ‘puja ferry’ will carry passengers in two batches. The first batch will start in the morning and will return in the afternoon after a brief stopover at Belur Math. The second batch will start in the afternoon and return in the late evenings. There will be music, songs and Bengali ‘adda’ in keeping with the true Bengali spirit. Important personalities from different walks of life and celebrities will be present on board to add a dash of colour to the ‘adda’. Every aspect of the journey will be in keeping with the rich tradition that the city boasts of.”

Till now WBTDC has received positive response to this package. It has been getting favourable response from tour operators and tourists in general for this package. Several groups of foreign tourists who are visiting the city during this time have evinced keen interest in this package. WBTDC is marketing this package in a big way among the domestic and international tour operators.