New Delhi, Jan 8: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will flag off the world’s longest river cruise with MV Ganga Vilas on January 13 from Varanasi, Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said.
According to the Minister, the luxury cruise will cover a distance of more than 3,200 kms across 27 river systems in 5 states in India and Bangladesh.
“Under the dynamic leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, we are exploring the immense wealth that our rich river system has to offer. This avenue of sustainable development via inland waterways has received a tremendous boost as efforts to augment cargo traffic as well as passenger tourism has borne fruit with encouraging results. The MV Ganga Vilas cruise is a step towards unlocking the huge potential river tourism in the country has to offer,” Sonowal said.
The Minister exuded confidence that the country’s rich heritage will get further transcended in the global stage as tourists will be able to experience the spiritual, the educational, the well-being, the cultural as well as the richness of the biodiversity of India.
“From Kashi to Sarnath, from Majuli to Mayong, from Sunderbans to Kaziranga, this cruise packs an experience of a lifetime. I believe that this wonderful initiative, under the guidance of Prime Minister Modi ji, is the beginning of a new era in river cruise tourism in India and strengthening our government’s commitment to enabling Act East, both through policy and practice,” he said.
According to an official statement, the 51 days cruise is planned with visits to 50 tourist spots including World Heritage Sights, National Parks, river Ghats, and major cities like Patna in Bihar, Sahibganj in Jharkhand, Kolkata in West Bengal, Dhaka in Bangladesh and Guwahati in Assam. (ANI)
