Longest River Cruise Ganga Vilas To Benefit Local Markets
Cruise will help in providing employment in hinterland of waterways
Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi virtually flagged off the longest river cruise by Ganga Vilas on 13th January 2023 from Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh) on Ganga River on National Waterway-1 (NW-1) scheduled to reach on 1st March 2023 to Dibrugarh (Assam) on Brahmaputra River (NW-2) covering a distance of about 3200 km between NW-1 & 2 via Indo-Bangladesh Protocol route.
The route followed by the river cruise and the cities of India as well as Bangladesh set to be covered as detailed by the cruise operator is at Annex. -1.
It would provide employment to local boat operators, hoteliers and restaurants operators to handle domestic as well as international tourists. It would also benefit the local markets i.e. handicrafts. Thus, it would help in uplifting the lives of people living in the hinterland of waterways by providing employment.
Annex. -1
The route and the places of India and Bangladesh stated to be visited –
| S.N. | Date | Location | State |
| Day 1 | 10 Jan 2023, Tue | Varanasi | Uttar Pradesh |
| Day 2 | 11 Jan 2023, Wed | Varanasi | Uttar Pradesh |
| Day 3 | 12 Jan 2023, Thu | Varanasi | Uttar Pradesh |
| Day 4 | 13 Jan 2023, Fri | Flagging off by Hon’ble Prime Minister from Varanasi | Uttar Pradesh |
| Day 4 | 13 Jan 2023, Fri | Ghazipur | Uttar Pradesh |
| Day 5 | 14 Jan 2023, Sat | Buxar | Bihar |
| Day 6 | 15 Jan 2023, Sun | Doriganj | Bihar |
| Day 7 | 16 Jan 2023, Mon | Chirand – Patna | Bihar |
| Day 8 | 17 Jan 2023, Tue | Patna | Bihar |
| Day 9 | 18 Jan 2023, Wed | Simaria | Bihar |
| Day 10 | 19 Jan 2023, Thu | Munger | Bihar |
| Day 11 | 20 Jan 2023, Fri | Munger | Bihar |
| Day 12 | 21 Jan 2023, Sat | Sultanganj | Bihar |
| Day 13 | 22 Jan 2023, Sun | Bateshwarsthan | Bihar |
| Day 14 | 23 Jan 2023, Mon | Samtaghat | Jharkhand |
| Day 15 | 24 Jan 2023, Tue | Jangipur | West Bengal |
| Day 16 | 25 Jan 2023, Wed | Murshidabad | West Bengal |
| Day 17 | 26 Jan 2023, Thu | Matiari | West Bengal |
| Day 18 | 27 Jan 2023, Fri | Kalna | West Bengal |
| Day 19 | 28 Jan 2023, Sat | Kolkata | West Bengal |
| Day 20 | 29 Jan 2023, Sun | Kolkata | West Bengal |
| Day 21 | 30 Jan 2023, Mon | Kolkata | West Bengal |
| Day 22 | 31 Jan 2023, Tue | Namkhana | West Bengal |
| Day 23 | 01 Feb 2023, Wed | Bali | West Bengal |
| Day 24 | 02 Feb 2023, Thu | Hemnagar | West Bengal |
| Day 25 | 03 Feb 2023, Fri | Antihara (Bangladesh) | Bangladesh |
| Day 26 | 04 Feb 2023, Sat | Mongla (visit) | Bangladesh |
| Day 27 | 05 Feb 2023, Sun | Kotka | Bangladesh |
| Day 28 | 06 Feb 2023, Mon | Harbaria | Bangladesh |
| Day 29 | 07 Feb 2023, Tue | Morleganj | Bangladesh |
| Day 30 | 08 Feb 2023, Wed | Barisal (visit) | Bangladesh |
| Day 31 | 09 Feb 2023, Thu | Meghna Ghat (Dhaka) | Bangladesh |
| Day 32 | 10 Feb 2023, Fri | Dhaka (visit) | Bangladesh |
| Day 33 | 11 Feb 2023, Sat | Sonargaon Excursion | Bangladesh |
| Day 34 | 12 Feb 2023, Sun | Aricha | Bangladesh |
| Day 35 | 13 Feb 2023, Mon | Tangail | Bangladesh |
| Day 36 | 14 Feb 2023, Tue | Sirajganj (visit) | Bangladesh |
| Day 37 | 15 Feb 2023, Wed | Chilmari | Bangladesh |
| Day 38 | 16 Feb 2023, Thu | Rangpur Excursion | Bangladesh |
| Day 39 | 17 Feb 2023, Fri | Dhubri (India) | Assam |
| Day 40 | 18 Feb 2023, Sat | Goalpara | Assam |
| Day 41 | 19 Feb 2023, Sun | Sualkuchi | Assam |
| Day 42 | 20 Feb 2023, Mon | Pandu Port (visit) | Assam |
| Day 43 | 21 Feb 2023, Tue | Kolong | Assam |
| Day 44 | 22 Feb 2023, Wed | Singri | Assam |
| Day 45 | 23 Feb 2023, Thu | Silghat | Assam |
| Day 46 | 24 Feb 2023, Fri | Silghat (Kaziranga National Park) | Assam |
| Day 47 | 25 Feb 2023, Sat | DhansiriMukh | Assam |
| Day 48 | 26 Feb 2023, Sun | SubansiriMukh | Assam |
| Day 49 | 27 Feb 2023, Mon | Majuli Island (visit) – NimatiGhat | Assam |
| Day 50 | 28 Feb 2023, Tue | Sibsagar–Bogibeel | Assam |
| Day 51 | 01 Mar 2023, Wed | Bogibeel – Dibrugarh / Fly to Delhi | Assam |
This information was given by the Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Shri Sarbananda Sonowal in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha.
