An explanation has been given by the government after reports that the ‘MV Ganga Vilas’ luxury ship launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has ground down.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off the world’s longest luxury cruise ship ‘MV Ganga Vilas’ from Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh on January 13 through a video presentation.
On the third day of the voyage, the ship ran aground in the shallow waters of Bihar’s Chhapra area and the foreign passengers were rescued by the state disaster rescue team in small boats.
Samajwadi leader and Leader of Opposition in Uttar Pradesh Akhilesh Yadav also raised the question by sharing a video of passengers arriving in small boats.
Sanjay Bandopadhyay, Chairman, Inland Waterways Authority of India, has given an explanation about this.
The Ganga Vilas reached Patna as scheduled. There is no truth in the reports of a ship grounding in Chapra. Sanjay said that the ship is continuing its journey as scheduled.
Also, local officials said that the disaster team was deployed as a precautionary measure and the passengers were picked up by small boats, stopping at a certain distance as planned, as the ship would get stuck if it was brought ashore.
The luxury cruise travels over 3,200 kilometers on 27 river systems across five states in India and Bangladesh.
Officials say the 80-passenger Ganga Vilas luxury cruise ship is designed to showcase the best of the country to the world.
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The cruise will take 51 days to visit 50 tourist destinations including world heritage sites, national parks, sanctuaries, riverine hills and major cities like Patna in Bihar, Sahibganj in Jharkhand, Kolkata in West Bengal, Dhaka in Bangladesh and Guwahati in Assam.
A total distance of 4 thousand kilometers is to be traveled. Foreign travelers are also going to travel in it.
The Ganga Vilas ship is 62 meters long and 12 meters wide. The ship has three decks, 18 cabins with a capacity of 36 tourists, with all amenities to provide tourists with a memorable and luxurious experience. The vessel is equipped with pollution control and noise control technologies.