Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah launched the Made in India ‘Akshar River Cruise’ on the Sabarmati Riverfront developed by Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation and Sabarmati Riverfront Development Corporation Limited through video conferencing on Sunday.

Amit Shah said that through this Akshar River Cruise, the Government of Gujarat and the Municipal Corporation have given a new gift to the citizens of Ahmedabad today. He said that when Narendra Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat, he was the first to imagine and plan the riverfront in India, which was developed and completed during his tenure as Chief Minister. Shah said that the riverfront is not only popular in Ahmedabad but across India and the world and has emerged as an attraction centre for tourism, stated the press release. Amit Shah said that the efforts made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the last 9 years to make India number one in every field of the world are now showing results. He said that Prime Minister Modi has given a new shape to the development of the whole of India through schemes like Garib Kalyan, Bharat Gaurav, Bharat Utkarsh, and infrastructure development in the last 9 years.

The Union Home Minister said that the water level has not only gone up due to the riverfront, but it has also emerged as a centre of various social and cultural activities for everyone, including senior citizens, children, and youth.

He said this luxury river cruise will be a new attraction for all the citizens of Ahmedabad. He added that this cruise is developed under Public Private Partnership by Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation and Sabarmati Riverfront Development Corporation Limited.
This cruise is the first passenger catamaran built in India under Make in India at a cost of Rs 15 crore with twin engines, and it can safely travel for one and a half hours.

He said that this 30-meter cruise would emerge as a centre of attraction for all the citizens of Ahmedabad and the countries visiting the city. Shah said that the cruise has a capacity of 165 passengers and also has a restaurant, which will definitely attract people.
The Union Home Minister said that the cruise has been designed keeping in mind the convenience of the citizens, and it is equipped with 180 life jackets, fire safety and an emergency rescue boat. He said that during his tenure as the Chief Minister of Gujarat, Narendra Modi had always given priority to the tourism of Ahmedabad and Gujarat.

He added that due to several initiatives taken in the field of tourism by Narendra Modi, Gujarat and its two major tourist centres have emerged prominently on the country’s tourism map. He said that by investing crores of rupees, an ecosystem was developed for lakhs of tourists coming to Gujarat, good roads were constructed to connect all pilgrimages and borders, and roads connecting airports to tourist places were also built to provide facilities to tourists, a release from Ministry of Home Affairs stated.

Union Home Minister said that a light and sound show has started at Ambaji, the flag is hoisted at Pavagadh temple after 500 years, the Madhavpur fair has become a national fair, and a tent city has been built in Kutch for tourists from all over the world to stay in White Rann. Along with this, with the making of Kankaria Pond and now, this riverfront in Ahmedabad, a huge tourism ecosystem has been created.

Shah said that under the Sarhad Darshan Programme (Border Visit Programme), arrangements have also been made to give the youth of Gujarat an experience of Nadabet, where the security forces perform their duties in difficult circumstances. He said that Narendra Modi has taken forward the development of tourism, due to which the tourist’s footfall in Gujarat from within the country and around the world has increased manyfold.

Shah added that the world’s largest cricket stadium is in Ahmedabad, where cricket matches are held regularly and tourism has also increased. Apart from this, a very big sports city is also taking shape here. He said that Prime Minister Modi has given a new dimension to Gujarat’s tourism by taking various initiatives, said the press release.