Varanasi
51 days on the Ganges: A luxury cruise ship set off on its maiden voyage in India. At 3,200 kilometers, the route is probably one of the longest in the world.
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched the maiden voyage of a new luxury cruise down the Ganges via video conference. The ship “MV Ganga Vilas” has now started in the holy city of Varanasi in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh for Hindus.
In 51 days it is to pass through various Indian regions and the neighboring country of Bangladesh. The destination port is Dibrugarh in the east of the country, surrounded by tea plantations. In view of the 3,200-kilometer journey down the Ganges, Modi spoke of the “world’s longest river cruise”.
With this new luxury line, which is operated by an Indian shipping company and is now scheduled to sail regularly, the Indian government wants to boost the travel industry and shipping tourism in particular. It will create new job opportunities while presenting India’s culture, historical heritage and spirituality to travelers along the sacred Ganges, Modi said.
The first guests to board were 32 tourists from Switzerland. The three-deck ship has room for 36 passengers. The pleasure of travel is not cheap – a day on the luxury liner costs between 280 and 566 euros per person. Moorings include Patna, Kolkata and the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka. Excursions to world heritage sites, national parks and other places of tourist interest are part of the program.
Continuously inhabited for more than 3000 years, Varanasi is one of the holiest sites for Hindus. Millions make the pilgrimage there every year to bathe in the Ganges, believing it will wash away their sins. The Ganges and its tributaries form a vast river system that provides water for agriculture, industry and households. The river is worshiped by Hindus as a mother goddess. Despite years of effort to protect the Ganges, millions of liters of untreated sewage flow into it every day.
