PM Modi flags off luxury cruise 'MV Ganga Vilas' from Varanasi

Tribune News Service

Shubhadeep Choudhury                                                                                           

New Delhi, January 13

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday flagged off MV Ganga Vilas, a 3,200km-long river cruise from Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh to Dibrugarh in Assam featuring among its destinations various other places en route, including Bangladesh capital Dhaka and the eastern metropolis Kolkata.

The journey, which will pass through 25 different river streams and touch five Indian states and Bangladesh, is being claimed as the world’s longest river cruise.

Speaking through video-conferencing, the Prime Minister said transportation through river waterways was neglected before 2014 despite the rich history of this mode of transport in the country. He said while in 2014 there were only five national waterways in the country, work was now going on to develop 111 national waterways across 24 states in the country. About two dozen of these waterways were in operation already, he said.

Cargo transported through waterways has reached the figure of 90 lakh metric tonnes from 30 lakh metric tonnes eight years ago, he said.

The Prime Minister said the river cruise route inaugurated on Friday would help make eastern India a growth engine for the country. It will facilitate business from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal to Bangladesh, he said. 

Noting that skilled workforce was needed for manning the infrastructure being developed for transportation through waterways, Modi said a Skill Development Centre had been set up in Guwahati for the purpose. A new facility was also being constructed in Guwahati for the repairing of ships, he said.

Quoting a study, the Prime Minister said waterways, besides being beneficial to environment, was a cheaper mode of transportation than road or rail. He said India has more than 125 rivers and river streams which can be developed to transport goods and ferry people.

Addressing the Swiss guests who have checked in for the 51-day tour aboard the luxury vessel, the PM said the cruise had something special for everyone. Those seeking spirituality will find it in destinations like Kashi, Bodh Gaya, Vikramshila, Patna and Majuli; those looking for a multinational cruise experience will get the opportunity when the vessel will pull up at Dhaka in Bangladesh, and those wanting to witness the natural diversity of India will get a chance when the boat will take them through the Sundarbans and the forests of Assam.

The PM also inaugurated ‘Tent City’ at Varanasi via video-conferencing today. Consisting of cottages, the Tent City project has been developed opposite the city ghats to provide accommodation facilities and cater to the increased tourist influx in Varanasi.

The PM also inaugurated and laid the foundation stones for several other inland waterways projects worth more than Rs 1,000 crore.

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