PM Modi Flag Off Ganga Vilas Via Video Conference
Ganga Vilas Cruise: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated (flag-off) the world’s longest river Cruise, MV Ganga Vilas in Varanasi via a video conference. Ahead the inauguration, PM Modi will lay foundation stones for several other projects.
Cruise MV Ganga Vilas
Cruise MV Ganga Vilas is world’s longest river cruise, Also, it is the first-ever cruise vessel to be made in India. This is the symbol of Self-reliant India (Atmanirbhar Bharat) in the River Cruise Sector, an official of Port, Shipping and Waterways told ANI.
Taking notes from the specifications, MV Ganga Vilas will begin its journey from Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh and travel 3,200 km, in 51 days, to reach Dibrugarh in Assam via Bangladesh.
The 32 tourists from Switzerland, who will take the first journey, were welcomed at the Varanasi port with garlands and tunes of shehnai. They will visit various religious and historical places in Varanasi before setting out on the cruise.
Also Read: Ganga Vilas: Kashi is entering into a new era, says CM Yogi prior to inauguration of river cruise
Inauguration Ceremony
The flag-off ceremony has the presence of Minister for Ports, Shipping & Waterways – Sarbananda Sonowal, Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adityanath, besides other Ministers and senior officials from various Ministries & Departments.
Union Minister for Port Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal told ANI that on its maiden voyage, MV Ganga Vilas will carry 32 tourists from Switzerland across 27 river systems and will cruise through various prominent destinations located along the river banks in Varanasi, Patna, Kolkata, Bangladesh, Guwahati and Sibsagar/Dibrugarh.
“The journey will give the foreign tourists an opportunity to embark upon an experiential voyage and indulge in the art, culture, history, and spirituality of India and Bangladesh,” Mr. Sonowal said.
PM To Inaugurate Projects
During the event, the PM will also inaugurate Haldia Multi-Modal Terminal, 4 floating community jetties in Uttar Pradesh, the Skill Development Centre at Guwahati in Assam
In order to facilitate the growth of Water Transport in India, IWAI has undertaken several projects, one of which is the Haldia MMT. Haldia is an industrial port city located on the confluence of River Hoogly and the Bay of Bengal in the state of West Bengal. The geographical advantage of Haldia provides a competitive logistics edge with the waterways.
It provides the opportunity to export and import the products at quite affordable rates. Developed over an area of 61 acres in the Purba Medinipur District of West Bengal under the Jal Marg Vikas Project, the Haldia Multi-Modal Terminal (MMT) has a cargo handling capacity of 3.08 MMTPA. The berths are designed to handle vessels up to 3000 DWT
“Floating community jetties will be inaugurated at Saidpur (Ghazipur), Chochakpur (Ghazipur), Zamania (Ghazipur), and Kanpur (Ballia) in Uttar Pradesh. More than 60 community jetties is being constructed along river Ganga across the states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal to boost the economic activities and improve the livelihoods of the local community,” the Ministry said.
