PM Modi to flag off world's longest river cruise in Varanasi on January 13

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will flag off the world’s longest river voyage — the ‘Ganga Vilas Epic’ cruise from Varanasi to Dibrugarh on  January 13.

This was disclosed by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath during a meeting with officials here on January 2, 2023. 

Known as Ganga Vilas Cruise, this cruise will connect Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh to Dibrugarh in Assam, and travel through Kolkata and Dhaka. As per the latest development, the world's longest luxury river cruise is all set to start its journey on 13th January 2023, which will be a distance of around 3200 km.

Dibrugarh is set to be a part of the world's longest river voyage with the launch of 'Ganga Vilas', a luxury cruise vessel, on January 13, 2023. To be flagged off from Varanasi, the ship will cover a distance of 3,200 km to Dibrugarh in Assam via Bangladesh.

Also Read: India’s 1st underwater tunnel: Blink-and-you-miss-it experience for West Bengal passengers

Having 18 suites and associated facilities, it will reach Dibrugarh on 1st March 2023 covering the distance in 48 days, traversing through 27 river systems in India and Bangladesh on the way.

As per reports, around 32 Swiss nationals will be onboard the cruise.

On the other hand, the East-West Metro Corridor's first underwater tunnel, being built beneath the Hooghly River in West Bengal at a cost of around Rs 120 crore with trains crossing the 520-meter section in only 45 seconds.

The tunnel, which is the Indian equivalent of Eurostar's London-Paris route, is 13 metres below the riverbed and 33 metres below ground level.

The 520-meter tunnel is part of Kolkata's East-West Metro Corridor, which runs from Salt Lake Sector V in the east to Howrah Maidan in the west across the river.

The tunnel's construction is complete, and it is expected to be completed in December 2023, after the completion of a 2.5-kilometre length of the corridor between Esplanade and Sealdah.