PremiumMV Ganga Vilas will begin its journey from Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh and travel around 3,200 km in 51 days to reach Dibrugarh in Assam via Bangladesh, sailing across 27 river systems
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will flag off world’s longest river cruise ‘Ganga Vilas’ and will inaugurate Tent City at Varanasi on Friday via video conferencing, the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement.
MV Ganga Vilas will begin its journey from Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh and travel around 3,200 km in 51 days to reach Dibrugarh in Assam via Bangladesh, sailing across 27 river systems in India and Bangladesh.
“MV Ganga Vilas has three decks, 18 suites on board with a capacity of 36 tourists, with all the luxury amenities. The maiden voyage has 32 tourists from Switzerland signing up for the entire length of the journey," it said.
The MV Ganga Vilas cruise is curated to bring out the best of the country to be showcased to the world.
“The 51 days cruise is planned with visits to 50 tourist spots 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," the PMO said.
The journey will give tourists an opportunity to embark upon an experiential voyage and indulge in the art, culture, history, and spirituality of India and Bangladesh.
In line with PM’s endeavour to boost river cruise tourism, the huge untapped potential of river cruise will get unlocked with the launch of this service and it will herald a new age of river cruise tourism for India.
Tent City has been conceptualised on the banks of River Ganga to tap the potential of tourism in the region.
“The project has been developed opposite to city ghats which will provide accommodation facilities and cater to the increased tourists influx in Varanasi, especially since the inauguration of Kashi Vishwanath Dham," the PMO said.
It has been developed by Varanasi Development Authority in PPP mode. The tourists will reach the Tent City by boats from different ghats situated in the vicinity.
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.
According to a statement by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), the prime minister will also inaugurate and lay the foundation stones for several other inland waterways projects worth more than ₹1000 crores during the event.