Boat built in Goa to ferry devotees at Varanasi’s ghats

PANAJI: A river passenger ferry, built by Goa Shipyard Limited, (GSL) for the Uttar Pradesh Rajkiya Nirman Nigam (UPRNN) will soon be deployed in the river Ganga for cruises between Raj Ghat, Ravidas Ghat and Assi Ghat at Varanasi.
Prime minister Narendra Modi flagged off the ferry via video conference in the presence of ministry of defence officials and officers of the UP government.
The contract for the ferry was signed in February 2019 under the Centre’s ‘PRASAD’ scheme to promote tourism and as a mode of transit at Varanasi.
“This passenger ferry has been designed and built taking into consideration the unique role it has to play in promoting tourism across the river Ganga,” a GSL official said. It has been customised to carry 80 passengers.
The defence public sector unit designed the ferry in line with classification rules of the Indian Register of Shipping (IRS).
While the hull is built from steel, the composite superstructure provides weight advantage and better corrosion resistance characteristics.
The vessel sailed from Goa to Varanasi, transiting through coastal waters and inland waterways.