(NITN): Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the world’s longest river cruise journey ever which will connect Varanasi city of Uttar Pradesh with Assam’s Dibrugarh via Bangladesh on Jan 13.
Interestingly, Varanasi is Modi’s own parliamentary constituency.
The PM had mentioned about the cruise in his address while launching several development projects in West Bengal last week.
During his address, he informed that more than 100 waterways are being developed today and work is taking place to introduce advanced cruise ships in the rivers while boosting business and tourism.
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The Prime Minister also highlighted the Ganga-Brahmaputra project that is being carried out between India and Bangladesh to establish waterway links between the two rivers.
Referring to the cruise from Kashi to Dibrugarh via Bangladesh, the Prime Minister informed that the 3200 km long journey is the first-of-its-kind in the entire world and it will be a reflection of the growing cruise tourism in the country.
According to reports, the cruise will visit 50 major tourist destinations during its journey.
The longest river cruise will be operated by a private player, reports Jagran Josh.
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“Because of the increased focus of the government on development and maintenance of inland waterways, we have taken up several projects to increase the depth, set up necessary navigation facilities and jetties for the successful operation of both passenger and cargo vessels,” a senior official of the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) told the news portal.
Highly placed government sources told The Hindu Business Line that Border Security Force (BSF), which already guards the India-Bangladesh border, has been assigned the task of providing security cover to the cruise which will set sail for 51 days from Varanasi to enter Bangladesh from West Bengal before docking at Dibrugarh in Assam.
