One of India’s foremost authorities on inland waterways and pioneer of river cruising, M V Nath, chairman and managing director, Vivada Inland Waterways, is optimistic about the great opportunities ahead for utilising the country’s inland waterways. By Sudipta Dev
MV Nath, CMD, Vivada Inland Waterways started his business about 50 years ago in 1969, which was primarily a barge business transporting petroleum products. Today he has 20 vessels out of which 12 carry petroleum products. The cruise business was established in 2000 with day cruising in Kolkata and in 2007 he started the day and night cruises to Sunderbans, Murshidabad and Patna. He recognised the opportunity that a segment of the high society in Kolkata were very keen to go to Sunderbans in a “nice ship”. “The business started initially mainly as oil transportation and bunkering of international vessels. That is our core business. River cruising is a branch of that core business,” says Nath. He is happy that presently the government of India is taking a lot of interest in inland waterways. “They are also coming up with plans to introduce more vessels and better utilise inland waterways,” he adds.
Talking about when the rivers of India will be great channels for cruising, considering that now only Nath and a couple of more operators are the only ones who have recognised the potential and are operating cruises, Nath states with optimism, “We have been getting a lot of enquiries from river cruising companies from abroad to start cruising here, as well as a big company from Mumbai which wants to bring some vessels and collaborate with us. ISKCON is also introducing a river cruise from Kolkata to Mayapur and we will partner in that. All round development will take place.”
Nath is hopeful that the Indo Bangaladesh cruise route will get open. “As per our estimation it will take another three months, it is in the last leg of the finalisation of the protocol terms on which both countries could agree. An MoU has been signed by both prime ministers on the long standing inland waterways protocol for five years. There is an agreement on the Sunderbans also between both countries. We have been pursuing both governments to do this protocol on river cruises as both countries will benefit from this,” he points out.
Foreseeing a great potential in both day cruising and overnight cruises, Nath aims to remodel the concept of day cruises into a lifestyle product, not just in Kolkata but also in Patna and Varanasi. “As far as overnight cruises are concerned we are looking at more investment, about Rs 75 crore to Rs 100 crore in this segment in the next five years,” he reveals.
Nath’s aim is to take the cruising industry in India to a higher level where the country can be compared to any international cruising destination. “We would like to exhibit to the foreigners the scenic beauty of the land as well as the old Dutch colonies; we have a lot of things to show to the international tourists,” he states, adding that many foreign tourists are interested in these cruises. For overnight cruises the company has three distinct routes – from Kolkata to Sunderbans (three nights), Kolkata to Farakka (five nights) on the Ganges heritage cruise, and again from Malda and Patna for the heritage trail.
The company has two distinct businesses, one is the MICE segment (mostly comprising of Indians), and the other is the leisure segment (international clients). “Today if you see there are only five cruise boats on a river which is about a 1000 km stretch; in the next five years there might be about 20 boats. That would be an investment of Rs 300 to Rs 400 crores. Not just from our company but also from other river cruise operators. We have done our bit to position it. We get a lot of enquiries from companies who want to enter the cruising business. We welcome everyone so that the business develops in India. There is a lot of scope in this segment, we always tell them,” he asserts.
Vivada has a full fledged hospitality department. Nath is proud of the fact that the attrition rate in his company is almost zero. “In cruise business, hospitality is very crucial and we really require staff who are well trained. For navigation we have a crew of about 200 people, whom we rotate,” he states, pointing out that during excursions there are cruise managers and professional guides. “We also involve the locals, especially in Sunderbans,” informs Nath. The chefs are well trained. There is also a bakery on board. “When we are cruising, every 50 km the cuisine changes – from potato to fish, everything is cooked in a different manner,” he adds.
Nath has three daughters who are not involved in the business, but according to him any time they may join his company.