Mayapur, Feb. 25: To help devotees interested to visit its temples in Mayapur on the occasion of ensuing Gaud Purnima festival set to begin this week, the Iskcon authorities will operate direct cruise services from Kolkata to Mayapur Ghat from February 28.
The special cruise, titled as ‘Jaladuta1’ will run from Millennium Park Ghat in Kolkata, opposite to Howrah station, so that devotees who would arrive by train can avail the service and reach Mayapur without any hassle.
The journey will cost Rupees two thousand per person and booking for which has already began. The Iskcon authorities have named the cruise as ‘Jaladuta1’ since the original ‘Jaladuta’; a cargo ship was used by its founder Srila Prabhupada to reach Boston from Calcutta in 1965.
Iskcon spokesperson Subroto Das said, “Jaladuta1 is a 30 seater modern boat with reclining seating arrangement that ensures comfort to the passengers. The boat has two inbuilt modern washrooms. During the five hour journey from Kolkata to Mayapur over river Hooghly and Bhagirathi, the passengers will be offered vegetarian breakfast and Prasad as lunch. Devotional songs and video will be played during the journey”.
Alay Govinda Das, a member of Iskcon management said, “This cruise service being launched pure on temporary basis. We may, however, consider running regular service in future depending upon the response from the passengers”.