04/01/2023
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will flag off the world's longest river cruise, from Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh to Dibrugarh in Assam via Bangladesh, on January 13.
If reports are to go by, the cruise will take visitors across 4,000 km of 27 river systems, including Ganga-Bhagirathi-Hooghly, Brahmaputra and West Coast Canal in India. The entire journey will be around 50 days.
Referring to this, PM Modi, while launching other projects in West Bengal, stated that this will be a unique cruise in the world, and will reflect the growth of cruise tourism in India. He also informed that the cruise will start its first voyage on January 13, which will cover 50 major tourist sites, along with some heritage sites, the famous Ganga Aarti at Varanasi and sanctuaries such as Kaziranga National Park and the Sundarbans Delta. If reports are to go by, the cruise will travel 1,100 km in Bangladesh.
An official in the know-how added that because the government is focusing more on development and maintenance of inland waterways, they are taking up numerous projects to increase the depth, set up necessary navigation facilities and jetties for successful operation of both passenger and cargo vessels.
Recently, Shipping and Waterways Minister Sarbananda Sonowal stated that the development of coastal and river shipping, including cruise services, will remain one of their top priorities. With regard to this, the PM said that the Centre has taken up the task of developing around 100 national waterways, and that the target is to see world-class cruise operating on these waterways.
https://www.dishavacations.com/news/5648/PM-Modi-to-flag-off-world-s-longest-river-cruise-on-January-13
Source: Times Travel