Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday flagged off MV Ganga Vilas, the world's longest river cruise, from Varanasi via video conferencing.
MV Ganga Vilas will begin its journey from Varanasi 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.
The luxury cruise has three decks, 18 suites on board, with a capacity of 36 tourists. The maiden voyage has 32 tourists from Switzerland.
The cruise odyssey includes 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 ticket price for this luxurious cruise is around ₹25,000 to ₹50,000 per day. The entire 51-day trip will cost around ₹20 lakh for each passenger.
"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," the Prime Minister says.
"The huge untapped potential of river cruises will get unlocked with the launch of this service and it will herald a new age of river cruise tourism for India," he adds.
Throwing light on the experience of the river cruise, the Prime Minister says it has something special for everyone. Those seeking spirituality will cover destinations like Kashi, Bodh Gaya, Vikramshila, Patna Sahib and Majuli, tourists looking out for a multinational cruise experience will get the opportunity to via Dhaka in Bangladesh, and those wanting to witness the natural diversity of India will cross through Sundarbans and the forests of Assam.
"Not just foreign tourists but Indians who travelled to different nations for such an experience can head towards North India now," the PM says.
PM Modi underlined the low usage of river waterways in India before 2014. "Post 2014, India is harnessing this ancient strength to the cause of modern India. There is a new law and detailed action plan for developing waterways in big rivers of the country. The Prime Minister informed that in 2014 only 5 national waterways were there in the country, now there are 111 national waterways in the country and about two dozen are in operation already. Similarly, there has been a 3 times increase in cargo transportation via river waterways from 30 lakh metric tonnes 8 years ago," he says.
PM Modi also inaugurated a tent city at Varanasi and laid the foundation stones for several other inland waterways projects worth more than ₹1,000 crore.