Luxury houseboat’s commercial operation in Chilika soon

Sambad English Bureau Published On : May 17, 2022 at 10:48 PM Updated On : May 17, 2022 at 10:50 PM

Bhubaneswar: The luxury houseboat ‘Garuda’ by Vikash Eco Resorts in Chilika is the first of its kind luxury houseboat will be launched soon for commercial operation.

Packages are consisting of overnight stay along with full board meals, activities and cruising covering different islands in Chilika.

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Two floors housing two suite rooms and four Premium Rooms, Bar and Restaurant are in the houseboat. Open Air Lobby in upper deck for Meetings/Conferences. Investment is of more than Rs 3 crores.

Indigenously designed, developed and manufactured in Barkul, Odisha.
Project approved by Odisha Tourism through single window mechanism. Received licenses/statutory clearances from Chilika Development Authority, Directorate Ports and Inland Water Transport

Silver City Boat Club, Cuttack

Inaugurated on 14th April 2021 as an Urban Recreation Facility for Cuttack City and neighboring areas.
Recently completed 1 year of successful operation
Has the 1st of its kind Floating Dining Facility in River Mahanadi
7 Nos. of modern boats with latest infrastructure and modern technology with hull design abroad. Offers enriching Water based activities like Boating, Kayaking, Canoeing
Shortly introducing 30 Seater Floating Restaurant and 50 Seater Catamaran
Catamaran proposed to operate from Cuttack to Dhabaleswar on day trip
Multi Cuisine Restaurant & Bar by OTDC presently operating in the jetty

Hirakud Boat Club

To develop Hirakud reservoir as a water recreation hub, Odisha Tourism is developing a boat club there with modern facilities like jetties for different types of boats to operate, restaurant, board walks, etc. The work has already been commissioned.
In addition, private operators after receiving approvals from DoT have started operating water sports and cruise facilities in Hirakud.

Catamarans

Dept. of Tourism has taken the initiative to refurbish and convert existing 4 Nos. of Catamarans into Luxury Houseboats on PPP mode in order to promote River Cruise Tourism in Odisha at par with global standards
Tour packages shall be curated for tourists and shall cover Bhitarkanika National Park and adjoining areas of GahirmathaWilidlife Sanctuary
Guests shall be offered unique experiences of cruising through the mangrove forests and shall be witnessing unique flora and fauna associated with mangrove forests of Bhitarkanika

Procurement of Cruise vessels and Floating Restaurant

DoT is procuring2 Cruise boats each with 40 pax capacity and 1 Floating Restaurant from a manufacturing facility in Kerala and the all these vessels are expected to be operationalized in Chilika in a couple of months.

Long term plans to promote River Cruise operations

In the ongoing integrated masterplanning initiatives for destinations like Chilika, Bhitarkanika, Hirakud, Chandrabhaga and Satkosia, DoT is giving special emphasis to develop support infrastructure for river cruise like jetties, passenger terminals, amenities like restaurants, toilets, parking, etc.
For the seamless cruise movement, DoT is engaging with other line departments like Water Resources, Forests&Environment, etc. for route demarcation, dredging, etc.

• In order to encourage private sector investments in the area, under Odisha Tourism Policy 2016 attractive incentives both fiscal and non-fiscal is offered.