New Delhi, 11 January (HS): Prime Minister Narendra Modi will flag off the world’s longest river cruise – MV ‘Ganga Vilas’ from Varanasi to Dibrugarh on January 13.
The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) on Wednesday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will flag off the world’s longest river cruise – MV Ganga Vilas through video conferencing on January 13, at 10.30 am and inaugurate the tent city in Varanasi.
According to the PMO, the Prime Minister will also inaugurate and lay foundation stones for several other inland waterways projects worth over Rs 1,000 crore during the event.
More about world’s longest river cruise – Ganga Vilas
MV Ganga Vilas – MV Ganga Vilas will start its journey from Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh and reach Dibrugarh in Assam after travelling approximately 3,200 km in 51 days crossing 27 river systems in India and Bangladesh. MV Ganga Vilas has three decks with all luxury amenities, and 18 suites with a capacity of 36 tourists. In the first trip, there will be 32 tourists from Switzerland.
MV Ganga Vilas Cruise is designed to showcase the best of the country to the world. 51 days cruise planned with visits to 50 tourist destinations including world heritage sites, 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 Is. The tour will give tourists an opportunity to embark on an experiential journey and indulge in the art, culture, history and spirituality of India and Bangladesh.
In line with Prime Minister Modi’s endeavour to promote river cruise tourism, the launch of this service will unleash the vast untapped potential of river cruising and usher in a new era of river cruise tourism for India.
Tent City in Varanasi
To tap the potential of tourism in the region, a tent city has been envisaged on the banks of the river Ganga. The project has been developed opposite the ghats of the city which will provide the convenience of living in Varanasi, especially after the inauguration of Kashi Vishwanath Dham and cater to the increasing number of tourists. It has been developed by Varanasi Development Authority in PPP mode. Tourists will reach the tent city by boat from various nearby ghats. The tent city will be operational from October to June every year and will cease for three months during the rainy season due to the increase in the water level of the river.
Inland Waterways Projects
The Prime Minister will inaugurate the Haldia Multi-Modal Terminal in West Bengal. Developed under the Jal Marg Vikas Project, the Haldia Multi-Modal Terminal has a cargo handling capacity of approximately 3 million metric tonnes per annum (MMTPA) and the berth is designed to handle vessels up to approximately 3000 deadweight tonnages (DWT).
The Prime Minister will also inaugurate four floating community jetties at Saidpur, Chochakpur, and Jamania in Ghazipur district and Kanpur in the Ballia district of Uttar Pradesh. In addition, the foundation stone of five community ghats will be laid by the Prime Minister at Digha, Nakata Diyara, Badh, Panapur in Patna district in Bihar and Hasanpur in Samastipur district of Bihar. More than 60 community ghats are being constructed along the banks of the river Ganga in the states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal to promote economic activities and improve the livelihood of local communities in the region. Community jetties are instrumental in improving the livelihood of people by providing simple logistics solutions to small farmers, fisheries units, unorganized agricultural producer units, horticulturists, floriculturists and artisans focusing on economic activities in the hinterland of river Ganga Will play a role
The Prime Minister will also inaugurate the Maritime Skill Development Center for the North East in Guwahati. This will help in tapping the rich talent pool in the North Eastern region and provide better employment opportunities in the fast-growing logistics industry.
Apart from these, the Prime Minister will also lay the foundation stone of a ship repair facility and an elevated road at Pandu Terminal in Guwahati. The ship repair facility at Pandu Terminal will save a lot of precious time as it takes more than a month to move a ship to the Kolkata repair facility and back. Besides this, it will also result in huge savings of money as the transportation cost of the ship will also be saved. The dedicated road connecting Pandu Terminal to NH 27 will enable 24-hour connectivity.
Hindusthan Samachar
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