Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday flagged off the world’s longest river cruise – MV Ganga Vilas – and inaugurated the tent city at Varanasi. Mr. Modi, who joined the function from New Delhi through video conferencing, also laid the foundation stones for many development schemes and inaugurated projects worth more than ₹1,000 crore for Varanasi.
The longest river cruise from Kashi to Dibrugarh is starting from today, putting tourism destinations on the global tourism map, the Prime Minister said. “Our country is entering into a robust phase of tourism. With a growing global profile, curiosity about India is also increasing,” said Mr. Modi. “With the tent city, tourists and devotees coming to Kashi now have an incredible means of accommodation,” he said.
MV Ganga Vilas is the first indigenously made cruise vessel to be made in India. The cruise has three decks, 18 suites on board with a capacity of 36 tourists, with all the modern amenities. It will cover a distance of 3,200 km in roughly 51 days reaching Assam’s Dibrugarh through Bangladesh. Built with a unique design and a futuristic vision, the MV Ganga Vilas will meander across various prominent destinations that lie across the Ganges along with river Hooghly. The cruise will pass through 25 different river streams.
An inside view of the luxury Cruise MV Ganga Vilas. | Photo Credit: PTI
Mr. Modi added the cruise journey is going to bring many spiritual, multinational and natural experiences as it will cover destinations like Kashi, Patna Sahib, Bodh Gaya, Vikramshila, Dhaka and the Suderbans. “Those seeking spirituality will cover destinations like Kashi, Bodh Gaya, Vikramshila, Patna Sahib and those wanting to witness the natural diversity will cover destinations like Sundarbans and the forests of Assam.”
In his address Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath dubbed the launch of the cruise as the start of a “new era of tourism” in Kashi. Mr. Adityanath said, “Today is a very significant day, it marks the beginning of a new journey of possibilities for Kashi. The day is historic for Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal. Uttar Pradesh expresses gratitude to the Prime Minister for connecting Kashi with the eastern port”.
