Ganga villas to sail today what Varanasi-Dibrugarh cruise to offer

Subject: Geography

Section: Transport and communication

Context:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will flag off the Ganga river cruise from Varanasi, his Parliamentary constituency. The 51-day cruise, being pitched as the world’s longest river cruise, is expected to reach its final destination — Dibrugarh in Assam — on March 1.

The route:

Starts from Varanasi, MV Ganga Vilas, and will cover 3,200 km over 51 days, crossing 27 river systems and several states before ending its journey at Dibrugarh.
The voyage will cover 50 tourist spots, including major cities like Patna in Bihar, Sahibganj in Jharkhand, Kolkata in West Bengal, Dhaka in Bangladesh and Guwahati in Assam.

Responsible ministry:

The Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways is the coordinator of this ship tourism project.
While it will be managed by private operators, the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI), under the Ministry of Shipping, Ports and Waterways (MoPSW), has supported the project.

River tourism in India:

In India, eight river cruise vessels are operational between Kolkata and Varanasi while cruise movement is also operating on National Waterways 2 (Brahmaputra).
The government of India has taken several initiatives to boost the country’s cruise tourism industry, including:
- infrastructure upgrades,
- rationalisation of port fees,
- removal of ousting charges,
- priority berthing for cruise ships, and
- the provision of e-visa facilities.
India aims to increase cruise passenger traffic from 0.4 million at present to 4 million.
The economic potential of cruise tourism is expected to rise from $110 million to $5.5 billion in the coming years.