Do you have a plan to visit Assam soon? If so, if you time
well, may be you can plan to enjoy a cruise on the MV
Charaidew! You will enjoy the land of one-horned rhinos
in Kaziranga and an extra ordinary trip on the mighty
Brahmaputra. Yes, Assam tourism in the new year is
touching new heights! The Elephant Festival in
Kaziranga coincided with the inauguration of the country's
first long distance luxury river cruiser MV Charaidew
gives. It's a fresh breath in the North East tourism
industry.
Adding to a new chapter in water tourism, tourists from all
over the world are coming to Kaziranga in the luxury
vessel, originally built in 1973 and newly remodeled to
provide modern facilities and comforts. Going to the
Elephants Festival in the Charaidew vessel is a wonderful
experience. "Nature at its best!" said Bobby, a British
tourist who came to enjoy festival and who didn't give his
last name.
Kahara and Bagari teams are lined up to play a game of
soccer. Rahul and Joan are the star athletes. Excitement
is electric just like during the World Cup Soccer game
between Brazil and Germany! But the players are not
even human! Teams of elephants playing soccer was the
most attractive part of the second Elephant Festival in
Kaziranga. Sandra Dias of Hong Kong told us so.
More than fifty elephants took part in the inaugural
procession. Babu, an elephant from Guwahati led the
procession where Bihu and Karbi dances were performed
by the local people. With the local people, thirty tourist
from different parts of the world also took part in the
procession .During this festival, tourists discovered a
new festive mood at Kaziranga. After giving bananas to
Rahul and Joan in the inaugural speech, Chief Minister of
Assam, Tarun Gogoi declared that next time the festival
will be organized in much bigger way.
Starting from January 30, along with the cultural
program some serious discussions regarding the
problem of the big animal were also held during the three
day long festival. Sri Markchan, noted elephant specialist
led the discussion.
The tourist s were also attracted to the traditional clothes
exhibitions, organized by self–help groups. The Karpu-
Pule Group sold more merchandize worth more than 25
thousand rupees, which is far better than previous year
as told by manager of the groups.
In addition to the festival, the trip on MV Charadew is a
unique adventure for tourists coming to the region. The
air-conditioned vessel can carry more than a hundred
tourists. Bamboo decorations in the cabin and traditional
food served by the professional staff are also interesting
parts of the cruiser.
A result of a novel venture between Assam Inland Water
Transport (IWT) and Assam Bengal Navigation Company,
the vessel that was lying unused from 1997 was
remodeled and given a complete new shape. ABN is an
Indo-British joint venture with offices in Guwahati and
London. ABN has so far made five trips each 14 days
long, almost all with foreign tourists.
"We started our season late from mid-November, 03 and
will continue till the national parks remain open till the end
of April. "During the remaining tourist season
approximately 150 more tourists are likely to avail the
cruise" said N.C. Das, Director of IWT Assam. It costs Rs.
3750 per room per night during tourist season and Rs.
2750 per day during the off-season. During the cruise on
the mighty Brahmaputra, the tourists visit not only
Kaziranga, but also can enjoy Manas National Park, and
the small towns of Sulakuchi and Hajo and other villages
and towns up to Goalpara in Lower Assam. Because of
the lack of maintenance of the water ways, night
navigation is not possible yet. For more information about
Kaziranga, http://www.assamtourism.org/wildlife.htm
Contributed by Paranjoy Bordoloi, Anandanagar,
Guwahati - 21, Assam, India
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