PM Narendra Modi to flag off world's longest river cruise MV Ganga Vilas in Varanasi on Friday

VARANASI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will flag off the MV Ganga Vilas luxury cruise on the world’s longest river voyage from Varanasi to Dibrugarh on Friday.
He will also lay the foundation and inaugurate several projects of inland waterways in Bihar, West Bengal and Assam on this occasion.
Divisional commissioner Kaushal Raj Sharma said, “The PM will flag off the Ganga Vilas cruise through video-conferencing and also inaugurate the tent city on the sandy bed of the opposite bank of the Ganga on Friday. To mark the occasion, a grand function will be organised at Ravidas Ghat where Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Union ports, shipping and waterways minister Sarbananda Sonowal along with other ministers and dignitaries will also be present”.
As curtain-raiser for the historical event, the Union ministry of culture hosted a grand musical concert, ‘Sur Sarita — Symphony of Ganga’, at the Kashi Vishwanath Corridor where renowned musician and singer Shankar Mahadevan enthralled the audience with his rendition ‘Kartavya Ganga’. Folk musicians from Assam, Bihar and Bengal performed to pay homage to the rivers Ganga, Yamuna and Brahmaputra. Yogi, Sonowal, Union minister Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti along with tourists travelling on the cruise were also present.
A mobile science exhibition on Ganga, ‘Arth Ganga’, organised by the National Council of Science Museums (NCSM), Kolkata under the Union ministry of culture, was also flagged off from Varanasi before the concert.
The exhibition is a tribute to the Ganga for public awareness about the conservation and restoration of the holy river and will travel in the districts located near the river.
After flagging off by the PM, Ganga Vilas will begin its journey from Varanasi. Travelling 3,200 km in 51 days to reach Dibrugarh in Assam via Bangladesh, the cruise will be sailing across 27 river systems in India and Bangladesh with 32 tourists, mostly from Switzerland in 18 luxurious suites on board.
The 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 journey will give the tourists an opportunity to embark upon an experiential voyage and indulge in the art, culture, history, and spirituality of India and Bangladesh.
Apart from PM’s endeavour to boost river cruise tourism, the unique concept of tent city on the banks of the Ganga to tap the potential of tourism in the region will also become a reality following its inauguration. The project has been developed opposite city ghats and will provide accommodation facilities and cater to the increased tourist influx in Varanasi, especially since the inauguration of Kashi Vishwanath Dham.
It has been developed by the 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 operated till it is dismantled with the beginning of the rise in the water level of the Ganga in the rainy season.
Apart from flagging off the cruise and inaugurating the tent city, the PM will also inaugurate Haldia multi-modal terminal in West Bengal, four floating community jetties at Saidpur, Chochakpur, Zamania in Ghazipur and at Kanspur in Ballia district.
Besides, a foundation stone will be laid for the five community jetties at Digha, Nakta Diyara, Barh, Panapur in Patna and Hasanpur in Samastipur district in Bihar by the PM.
The PM will also inaugurate Maritime Skill Development Centre for North East at Guwahati and also lay the foundation stone for a ship repair facility and an elevated road at Pandu Terminal in Guwahati on this occasion.