A group of boatmen are working relentlessly to build a 65-feet long and 11.5-feet wide boat on the banks of Lake Rudrasagar in Tripura.
The Lake Rudrasagar, which has the famous water palace Neermahal, is some 60 kilometres from capital Agartala.
Chief of the team, 70-year-old Dulan Sutradhar, says that on completion the boat will be his “magnum opus”.
Sutradhar, who began building boats from the tender age of 12, claims to have built at least 5000 boats so far.
“The new boat will be a 200-seater and will not sway even in the strongest currents,” Indian Express reported quoting Sutradhar.
He further said that in another month’s time, the boat will be ready to float.
Government officials informed that the boat will ferry people from Rajghat to Neermahal and back.
Rudrasagar Udbastu Fishermen Samabay Samiti, a cooperative body of 2,000 fishermen and boatmen, commissioned the project.
The project is estimated to cost Rs 12 lakh.
Ten boats are already operational at the lake and this includes three traditional racing boats, a speed boat and small boats of watchmen who keep a vigil on the lake waters at night.
Lake Rudrasagar is a massive 2,071.78 acres of the water body and it has always been a point of attraction as the Neermahal stands in the middle of the water.
The white and red palace was built by Maharaja Bir Bikram Kishore Manikya Bahadur in 1939.
