On Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi through video conferencing inaugurated the MV Ganga Vilas, the world's longest river cruise.
Additionally, he dedicated and laid the cornerstones for several additional inland waterway projects totaling more than 1000 crore rupees.
Speaking at the event, the Prime Minister said that India has a lot of potential for transportation via waterways since it has more than 125 rivers and because it is also a reasonably priced method of transportation. He said that the government's development efforts in the realm of waterways will boost transportation, trade, and tourism. According to PM, it will assist in transforming the east into the nation's development engine and the country's infrastructure is undergoing a makeover in this decade. The Prime Minister emphasized that the MV Ganga Vilas' trip is not a straightforward event since it serves as an illustration of how the nation's inland waterways system has developed.
Speaking on the sector's extraordinary growth over the previous year, Modi said that there were only five waterways in the nation in 2014; today, there are 111, roughly 20 of which are operational, and the amount of cargo being transported has grown thrice. According to the Prime Minister, the Ganga is more than simply a river; it is a travel companion for the nation. Wishing the Swiss visitors, a wonderful trip, Modi said that the cruise will offer a wide range of experiences.
Speaking of India's expanding influence, the Prime Minister noted that historical tourism and cruise tourism are starting to develop in the nation at a time when it is drawing tourists from across the globe. The occasion was attended by the chief ministers of Uttar Pradesh and Assam, the deputy chief minister of Bihar, the union minister of shipping, and Port Sarbanand Sonowal.
According to reports in the media, the MV Ganga Vilas would set off from Varanasi today and cruise 3,200 kilometers (km) via 27 river systems in India and Bangladesh to reach Dibrugarh in Assam. Today's first trip of the Ganga Vilas cruise, which has three decks, 18 suites, and a capacity for 36 passengers, included 32 Swiss visitors. 50 tourist destinations, including World Heritage Sites, National Parks, River Ghats, and important towns like Patna in Bihar, Sahibganj in Jharkhand, Kolkata in West Bengal, Dhaka in Bangladesh, and Guwahati in Assam, will be visited during the 51-day trip.
