PM Modi to flag off World’s Longest River Cruise-MV Ganga Vilas at Varanasi

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will flag off World’s Longest River Cruise-MV Ganga Vilas and will inaugurate Tent City at Varanasi on Friday at 10.30 AM via video conferencing. He will also inaugurate and lay the foundation stones for several other inland waterways projects worth more than 1000 crore rupees during the event. 

MV Ganga Vilas will begin its journey from Varanasi today 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.

32 swiss tourists will be part of the maiden voyage of Ganga Vilas cruise today which has three decks, 18 suites on board with a capacity of 36 tourists, with all the luxury amenities. 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. 

PM will also inaugurate the Tent city at Varanasi today which has been conceptualised on the banks of River Ganga 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 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.

Prime Minister will also inaugurate Haldia Multi Modal Terminal in West Bengal and four floating community jetties at Saidpur, Chochakpur, Zamania in Ghazipur district and at Kanspur in Ballia district in Uttar Pradesh. Besides, foundation stone will be laid for the five Community Jetties at Digha, Nakta Diyara, Barh, Panapur in Patna district and Hasanpur in Samastipur district in Bihar by the Prime Minister.

Prime Minister will also inaugurate Maritime Skill Development Centre for North East at Guwahati.

In addition to these, Prime Minister will also lay the foundation stone for a ship repair facility and an elevated road at Pandu Terminal in Guwahati.