Idling away for over a month: Riverfront cruise headed for the same fate as Ahmedabad seaplane?

Cruise operations in Ahmedabad have come to a standstill for the past one-and-a-half months due to cleaning of the Sabarmati River. The presence of water hyacinth, and the addition of excess clay on the riverbed has led to water levels declining, making it unsuitable for cruise vessels.

This has raised questions about whether the cruise will resume plying in the river or if the project will cease operations.

While the Gujarat government is actively promoting cruise tourism across the state, the cruise in Ahmedabad remains non-functional at present.

Cleaning of the Sabarmati Riverfront has been ongoing since last month, during which the river was first drained, cleaned, and then refilled with water. During this process, around 4,500 dumpers of sand were spread on the riverbed for the Atal Bridge and Metro Rail projects. However, the excess sand led to a depletion of water levels, forcing the suspension of cruise operations due to insufficient water depth.

It is reported that the contractors responsible for removing the sand are not taking any action.

Allegations have been made that the Amdavad Municipal Corporation (AMC) is not paying attention to the issue and is only interested in collecting the ₹55 lakh rent.

It has also been alleged that water is released into the river without any alerts regarding the monsoon, forcing the cruise to shut down operations repeatedly.

Due to this negligence of AMC, the cruise operators have reportedly incurred losses of up to ₹3 crore so far.

It is being speculated that, similar to the seaplane project which was discontinued due to low tourism demand, the cruise project in Ahmedabad may also face the same fate.