PM shows Green Flag to Ganga Vilas Cruise

 

           PM shows Green Flag to Ganga Vilas Cruise

 

 

Why in News?

Recently, the Prime Minister of India flagged off the world’s longest river cruise, ‘MV Ganga Vilas’ in Varanasi.

 

During the event, the Prime Minister also inaugurated the Tent City in Varanasi and laid the foundation stones for several other inland waterways projects.

 

 

 

 

 

About Ganga Vilas Cruise

 

1. The cruise is managed by private operators and the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI), under the Ministry of Shipping, Ports and Waterways (MoPSW) has supported the project.

2. It will explore 40 historic sites on the banks of the river Ganga including, Mahabodhi temple, Hazarduari Palace, Katra Masjid, Bodh Gaya, Chandanagar church, Char Bangla Temple and more.

3. Besides connecting National Waterway 1 (NW-1) which includes Ganga and National Waterway 2 (NW-2) on Brahmaputra, the cruise will cross 27 river systems.

4. The Ganga - Bhagirathi-Hooghly River system between Haldia (Sagar) and Allahabad (1620 km) was declared as NW-1 in 1986.

5. The 51 days cruise is planned with visits to 50 tourist spots including World Heritage Sites, National Parks, River Ghats, and major cities like Patna in Bihar, Sahibganj in Jharkhand, Kolkata in West Bengal, Dhaka in Bangladesh and Guwahati in Assam.

 

Significance of the Project

1. The project will boost river cruise tourism and will bring a new age of tourism for India. The cruise has been planned to showcase the best of India to the world.

2. The journey will give foreign tourists an opportunity to indulge in the art, culture, history, and spirituality of India and Bangladesh.

 

 

About National Waterways of India

 

1. Transportation plays an important role in the development of any country and it is of great significance for a developing country like India.

2. India has about 14500 km of navigable waterways. This includes rivers, backwaters, canals, creeks, and so on.

3. National Waterways Act came into effect in 2016. It proposed 106 National Waterways and merges 5 existing Acts which declared the 5 National Waterways.

4. Out of the 111 National Waterways declared under the National Waterways Act, 2016, 13 are operational for shipping and navigation and cargo/passenger vessels are moving on them.

5. 13 Operational National Waterways in India  are:

 

Sl. No.	NW Number	River System	Route	Length (in km)	Locations	Established
1	NW – 1	Ganga-Bhagirathi-Hooghly	Prayagraj – Haldia	1620	Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal	1986
2	NW – 2	Brahmaputra	Sadiya-Dhubri	891	Assam	1988
3	NW – 3	West Coast Canal, Champakara Canal, and Udyogamandal Canal	Kottapuram – Kollam	205	Kerala	1993
4	NW – 4	Krishna and Godavari	Kakinada–Puducherry stretch of canals, Kaluvelly Tank, Bhadrachalam – Rajahmundry, Waziraba–Vijayawada	1095	Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Puducherry	2008
5	NW – 10	Amba River		45	Maharashtra
6	NW – 83	Rajpuri Creek		31	Maharashtra
7	NW – 85	Revadanda Creek – Kundalika River System		31	Maharashtra
8	NW – 91	Shastri river–Jaigad creek system		52	Maharashtra
9	NW – 68	Mandovi – Usgaon Bridge to the Arabian Sea		41	Goa
10	NW – 111	Zuari– Sanvordem Bridge to Marmugao Port		50	Goa
11	NW – 73	Narmada River		226	Gujarat and Maharashtra
12	NW – 100	Tapi River		436	Gujarat and Maharashtra
13	NW – 97 (Sundarbans Waterways)	Namkhana to AtharaBankiKhal	Indo-Bangladesh Protocol Route	172	West Bengal

 

 

About the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI)

 

1. It came into existence in 1986 for the development and regulation of inland waterways for shipping and navigation.

2. It primarily undertake projects for the development and maintenance of IWT infrastructure on national waterways through grants received from the Ministry of Shipping.

3. It is headquartered in Noida (UP) with regional offices at Patna (Bihar), Kolkata (West Bengal), Guwahati (Assam) and Kochi (Kerala) and sub-offices at other places throughout India.

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