PM Modi today announces “world's longest river cruise”.
PM will also publish a document – “River Cruise Vision Document 2047”.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will flag out the world's longest river cruise, the MV Ganga Vilas, via video link in Varanasi on Friday and will inaugurate and lay the foundations for several other projects.
The World's Longest River Cruise The MV Ganga Vilas is the first cruise ship to be built in India. This is the symbol of independent India (Atmanirbhar Bharat) in the river cruise sector, an official from Port, Shipping, and Waterways told ANI.
The MV Ganga Vilas will start her journey from Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh and cover 3,200 km in 51 days to reach Dibrugarh in Assam via Bangladesh.
The flag-off ceremony will be held in the presence of Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways – Sarbananda Sonowal, Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adityanath, alongside other ministers and senior officials from various ministries and departments.
Union Minister for Port Shipping and Waterways, Sarbananda Sonowal, told ANI that on her maiden voyage, the MV Ganga Vilas will carry 32 tourists from Switzerland across 27 river systems and pass through various prominent destinations along the riverbanks in Varanasi, Patna, Kolkata, Bangladesh, Guwahati, and Sibsagar/Dibrugarh.
"The trip will provide foreign tourists with an opportunity to embark on an experiential journey and indulge in the arts, culture, history, and spirituality of India and Bangladesh," Mr. Sonowal said.
The Union Minister further said that this cruise is a culmination of PM Narendra Modi's vision of making waterways a source of development for the nation. More than 100 waterways are being developed in various locations across India to facilitate the development of the waterway ecosystem, which will lead to more cruise tourism, boost local businesses along the riverbanks and lead to the growth of the local economy.
The modernist ship, built to Indian and international design, is 62 meters long and 12 meters wide and requires a draft of 1.4 meters. With 18 suites and all associated amenities, the ship has a total capacity of 36 passengers.
PM will publish a document – “River Cruise Vision Document 2047” summarizing the vision of progress and growth of river cruises until 2047.
During the event, the Prime Minister will also inaugurate the Haldia Multi-Modal Terminal, 4 Community Floating Terminals in Uttar Pradesh, Guwahati Competence Development Center in Assam
To support the growth of water transportation in India, IWAI has undertaken several projects including the Haldia MMT. Haldia is an industrial port city at the confluence of the Hoogly River and the Bay of Bengal in the state of West Bengal. Haldia's geographic advantage provides a competitive logistical advantage over the waterways. It offers the possibility to export and import the products at quite reasonable prices. The Haldia Multi-Modal Terminal (MMT) was developed on an area of 61 acres in the Purba Medinipur district of West Bengal as part of the Jal Marg Vikas project and has a handling capacity of 3.08 MMTPA. The berths are designed for ships up to 3000 DWT
“Communal floating jetties will be inaugurated in Saidpur (Ghazipur), Chochakpur (Ghazipur), Zamania (Ghazipur), and Kanpur (Ballia) in Uttar Pradesh. More than 60 community jetties will be built along the Ganga River in the state of Uttar Pradesh. Bihar, Jharkhand, and West Bengal to boost economic activities and improve the livelihoods of the local community," the ministry official said.
A Port, Shipping, and Waterways official further said that the community jetties aim for inclusive growth and would play a key role in improving people's livelihoods by providing easy logistics solutions for small farmers, fishing units, a disorganized agricultural production unit and gardeners, Florists, and artisans who focus on economic activities in and around the Ganges hinterland.
With the rapid development and growth of the inland shipping sector, there is a demand for qualified personnel in the industry. Since skill development is one of the key aspects of the growth of any sector, a skill development center for inland navigation and engineering personnel has been established in Guwahati. This center offers courses on IV Master, IV Engineer, fairway development, safety, etc. - with the help of IIT, Guwahati, and National Inland Navigation Institute (NINI), Patna.
The center of excellence in Guwahati will help people in the northeastern region to improve their skills and employability in the inland waterway sector.
In addition, PM will also lay the foundation for a ship repair facility and flyover at Pandu Terminal. The elevated road will provide a direct connection to NH 27. Ship repair will save a lot of valuable time as it takes more than a month to transport a ship to the Kolkata repair facility and back. In addition, it also means a lot of money savings since the cost of transporting the ship is also saved.
"In line with PM's vision of making waterways a source of national development, IWAI will continue to help develop the national waterways and make them increasingly efficient," the official added.
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