Bhubaneswar: In an aim to attract tourists across the globe, soon there will be a commercial operation of Luxury Houseboat ‘Garuda’ in the Chilika Lake.
All arrangements are made and it is all set to launch a luxury houseboat, Garuda, set up by Vikash Eco Resorts in Chilika.
First of its kind Luxury Houseboat in Chilika, Garuda is 105 feet long, 22 feet wide, having dual engines and designed for climatic conditions of Chilika, officials said on Wednesday.
The officials said that it is a two floors housing boat with two Suite Rooms, 4 Premium Rooms, Bar & Restaurant.
There is an open-air lobby in the upper deck for meetings/conferences.
The lounge in the lower floor is air conditioned with a bar and good to accommodate 30 people comfortably with premium luxury.
The boat was constructed with an investment of more than Rs 3 crore. It is indigenously designed, developed and manufactured in Barkul, Odisha.
The project was approved by Odisha Tourism through a single window mechanism.
Vikash Eco Resorts have received licenses and statutory clearances from Chilika Development Authority (CDA), Directorate Ports and Inland Water Transport, they said.
This luxury boat can be booked by six individual couples and will generally have a 24 hours package. The packages consist of overnight stay along with full board meals, activities and cruising covering different islands in Chilika.
Guests can check-in with welcome drinks (along with health check-ups and safety instructions), then they will have Lunch on boat lounge (serves Odisha cuisine and seafood) at around 1.30 PM, sightseeing of birds and dolphin and scenery at 2.30 PM, activities and events at halt at Island around 4 PM.
Sunset snacks along with coffee /tea will be served in the evening. Fun activities and musical evening will be organised in the evening at Deck with Barbeque. Following this, a multi cuisine dinner buffet will be served to the tourists at the boat.
On the next day, the operator will serve sunrise drinks (herbal tea/coffee) at the deck followed by breakfast. Then, the tourists will visit and enjoy the lake on the way back to the Jetty. Check out will be done at the starting point at 9.30 AM.
D Murali Krishna, Chairman of the Vikash Group of Institutions, who is a dynamic entrepreneur has taken up the project, thanks to the support extended by the Odisha Government in Departments of Tourism, Forest, Environment & Climate Change and Commerce & Transport.
Senior IFS Officer and Eco-Tourism Enthusiast, Susant Nanda, Chief Executive Chilika Development Authority is happy over the development.
Mr.Nanda, a proactive mandarin has been supportive of Eco-Tourism and such an innovative and tourist attracting initiative in Chilika Lake.
Travel and Tourism Experts are upbeat with such an Eco-Tourism Project, which is executed with all systemic care, thanks to efforts of Gautam Agrawal of Vikash Resorts.