Guwahati: The MV Ganga Vilas the longest river cruise in the world is virtually launched on Friday in Varanasi by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Yogi Adityanath, the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, Sarbananda Sonowal and other dignitaries are also present for the inaugural ceremony. Both the deputy chief ministers of Bihar and Assam participated virtually at the ceremony.
The first cruise ship ever built in India is the MV Ganga Vilas. This is the symbol of Self-reliant India (Atmanirbhar Bharat) in the River Cruise Sector. This cruise will travel on an exciting 51-day tour that will include 15 days in Bangladesh. It will next travel via Assam’s Brahmaputra River to reach Dibrugarh.
The opulent cruise will travel through 5 states in India and Bangladesh over a distance of more than 3,200 miles.
A total of 27 river systems in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Bangladesh, and Assam will be traversed during this trip. The Ganga, Meghna and Brahmaputra are the three principal rivers that the cruise will cross.
The cruise will enter the Bhagirathi, Hooghly, Bidyavati, Malata, and Sundarbans river systems in Bengal.
In addition, PM Modi inaugurated the Varanasi Tent City. To capitalise on the tourism potential in the area, the Tent City concept was developed along the banks of the River Ganga.
It has been developed by the Varanasi Development Authority. Tourists will be able to use boats to go from various nearby Ghats to the Tent City. The tent city will be operational from October to June every year and will be dismantled for three months due to rise in river water level in the rainy season.
