World's longest river cruise 'a threat to dolphins'

The Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi, has officially launched the "world's longest river cruise" from the city of Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh.

- Shweta Desai

The luxury voyage will last about 50 days, travelling 2,000 miles via Dhaka in Bangladesh to Dibrugarh in Assam, crossing 27 river systems.

The three-deck MV Ganga Vilas, with 18 suites, is the latest in a trend of cruise tourism in India being promoted by the government. Modi hailed the cruise industry on the Ganges as a "landmark moment" that will herald a new age of tourism in India.

However, environmentalists and conservationists say the rise in cruises could do lasting damage to the habitat of the Ganges river dolphin (Platanista gangetica).

The Ganga Vilas will pass through Kaithi village, 16 miles from Varanasi at the confluence of the Ganges and Gomti Rivers, where the deep water and slower currents around the intersection provide a safe habitat for the endangered dolphin. In October, wildlife officials spotted a pod with baby calves, and put the number of dolphins in the area at 35 to 39.

It is one of a number of protected cetacean habitats on the route of the cruise, including Vikramshila Gangetic dolphin sanctuary in Bihar.

Pgangetica is one of the two freshwater dolphin species in south Asia, alongside P minor or the Indus river dolphin, found in Pakistan and the Beas River in north India. The Ganges river dolphin faces a number of threats, including pollution, excessive water extraction and poaching.