Patna: Tourists can cruise on the MV Ganga Vihar from May onwards.

The cruise ship is currently out of order but the Bihar State Tourism Development Corporation (BSTDC) will repair it by April.

"We are taking every effort to re-launch the service, Patna's lone floating restaurant, which has been shut for more than a year now," a BSTDC official said.

The floating restaurant was shut down because of technical problems. It was last seen plying on the river in January 2017, during the inaugural function of Prakash Utsav, the 350th birth anniversary celebrations of Guru Gobind Singh, the official said, adding: "Now, we want to resume the ship service as soon as possible."

The official further said: "Tenders have been floated for the ship's repair. We would open the tender on March 13 and hope to get the ship repaired by April-end. Once functional, tourists will be able to take a trip of up to 10km from Gandhi Ghat."

The MV Ganga Vihar is a river cruise ship-cum-floating restaurant on the Ganga in Patna run by BSTDC since 2009.

The ship operates daily in the evening and one can have an excellent view of Patna's banks during the cruise. The cruise happens to pass by Darbhanga House, Patna College, Tekari House, Gaighat, Gandhi Setu and several temples and a few fort-like structures during its journey. MV Ganga Vihar can also be used for viewing Ganga aarti along the banks of Patna.

Once ready, the ship can take up to 80 passengers on cruise. For every two hours, one has to pay Rs 120 for the journey, said the manager, travel and trade, BSTDC, Brajesh Kishore Singh.

On the delay in getting the ship repaired, Singh said though the corporation had earlier floated tender twice for its repair, no bidder turned up. "However, the tenders are being re-floated and we hope this time we will be able to re-start the service."

In case no bidder turns up, the tourism department has decided to repair the ship on its own, Singh added.