Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off the world's longest river Cruise, MV Ganga Vilas, in Varanasi virtually on Friday.
Union Minister for Ports, Shipping & Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath and other dignitaries are present at the launch event. Bihar Deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav and Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma joined the event virtually.
MV Ganga Vilas is the first-ever cruise vessel to be made in India. This is the symbol of Self-reliant India (Atmanirbhar Bharat) in the River Cruise Sector. This cruise will go on an adventurous journey for 51 days and pass through Bangladesh for 15 days. Following this, it will go to Dibrugarh through the Brahmaputra River in Assam.
The luxury cruise will cover a distance of more than 3,200 kms and pass through 5 states in India and Bangladesh.
This cruise will pass through a total of 27 river systems of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Bangladesh, and Assam. The cruise will pass through three major rivers Ganga, Meghna, and Brahmaputra.
The cruise will enter the Bhagirathi, Hooghly, Bidyavati, Malata, and Sundarbans river systems in Bengal.
Besides, PM Modi also inaugurated the Tent City in Varanasi. The Tent City has been conceptualized on the banks of the River Ganga to tap the potential of tourism in the region. The project has been developed opposite to city ghats which will provide accommodation facilities and cater to the increased tourist influx in Varanasi, especially since the inauguration of Kashi Vishwanath Dham.
It has been developed by Varanasi Development Authority. The tourists will reach the Tent City by boats from different Ghats situated in the vicinity. The tent city will be operational from October to June every year and will be dismantled for three months due to rise in river water level in the rainy season.
