An experience to cherish all through the life could be cruising down the wonderful Ganges, intersecting the imposing Himalayas, intermingled with green topography or simply portraying the holy city of Moksha on the way. The most astonishing part is reputed international publication Conde Nast Traveller has declared the Ganga cruise as one of the top six river cruises to take in 2017. Also, the global luxury and lifestyle magazine has placed Ganges Voyager II, the luxury cruise vessel that sails from Kolkata to Varanasi, at par and in the same league of cruises with Mekong and the Yangtze in China, the Amazon in South America, the Volga in Russia and the Irrawaddy in Myanmar.
To quote Shipping, Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari, ‘We are working on a massive scale to make India a global hotspot in tourism. We have received offers from Dubai’s Sultan to develop cruise tourism here. Massive work worth Rs 5,000 crore is under way to develop various projects on the Ganga with the World Bank assistance, including development of multi-modal hubs.’
Nitin Gadkari confessed that enormous work has to be done on the Ganges, be it for cruise tourism or cargo transport, and a ‘nirmal and aviral Ganga’. This initiation will take India to the path of development. The minister dreams of making India a global hotspot for cruise tourism.
