Guwahati, Jan 13: Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Friday said that the MV Ganga Vilas, the world’s longest river cruise, would be a game changer in unleashing the tourism potential of eastern India.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off the luxury river cruise through the video-conferencing mode.
Equipped with state-of-the-art amenities, MV Ganga Vilas will cover a distance of 3,200 km between Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh and Dibrugarh in Upper Assam in 51 days, and en route, make stop-overs near 50 major tourist sites for the guests to visit.
Attending the flag-off by the Prime Minister from Pandu ghat here, the chief minister expressed his gratitude towards Prime Minister Modi for the numerous initiatives under his leadership aimed at transforming the north-eastern states into engines of growth and development.
Referring to the launch of MV Ganga Vilas as a game-changer in unleashing the true potential of the tourism sector in eastern India, Sarma said it would go a long way in realising Prime Minister Modi’s motto of “transformation of the Northeast through transportation”.
The chief minister also appealed to tourists from across the country as well as abroad to avail the experience MV Ganga Vilas would be offering.
The Prime Minister also virtually inaugurated the Maritime Skill Development Centre at Guwahati, built at a cost of Rs 6 crore, and laid the foundation stones for a ship repair centre (to be built at a cost of Rs 208 crore) at Pandu and an elevated road connecting the multi-modal terminal (to be constructed at a cost of Rs 180 crore) at Pandu with the National Highway 27.
Funds for the upcoming facilities have been sanctioned.
The chief minister also exuded confidence that the Maritime Skill Development Centre would ensure that youths from the region make use of the employment and self-employment opportunities the maritime sector would be providing in the days to come.