MV Ganga Vilas, the world's longest river cruise, was flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Varanasi, ushering in a new era of river cruise travel for India, according to Union Minister of Ports, Shipping & Waterways and Ayush Sarbananda Sonowal. The opulent voyage will travel more than 3,200 kilometres along 27 different river systems in five different Indian and Bangladeshi states. With the introduction of this service, Sonowal continued, river cruises would finally reach their enormous latent potential.
Speaking on the occasion, the minister said, “Under the dynamic leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, we are exploring the immense wealth that our rich river system has to offer. This avenue of sustainable development via inland waterways has received a tremendous boost as efforts to augment cargo traffic as well as passenger tourism has borne fruit with encouraging results. The MV Ganga Vilas cruise is a step towards unlocking the huge potential river tourism in the country has to offer. Our rich heritage will get further transcended in the global stage as tourists will be able to experience the spiritual, the educational, the well being, the cultural as well as the richness of the biodiversity of India. From Kashi to Sarnath, from Majuli to Mayong, from Sunderbans to Kaziranga, this cruise packs an experience of a lifetime. This initiative is the beginning of a new era in river cruise tourism in India and strengthening our government’s commitment to enable Act East, both through policy and practice.”