Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Shri Amit Shah launched -Made in India 'Akshar River Cruise' on Sabarmati Riverfront developed by Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation and Sabarmati Riverfront Development Corporation Limited through video conferencing, today.

In his address, Shri 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 city, today. He said thatwhen Shri Narendra Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat, he only first time imagine and planned the riverfront in India and it was developed and completed during his tenure as Chief Minister. Shri Shah said that the riverfront is not only popular in Ahmedabad but across India and the world and has emerged as an attraction centre of tourism.

Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation said thatwater level has not only gone up due to 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 ₹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 country visiting the city. Shri Shah said that the cruise has a capacity of 165 passengers and also has a restaurant which will definitely attract the people.

Shri Amit Shah said that the cruise has been designed keeping in mind the convenience of the citizens and it is equipped with 180 life safety jackets, fire safety and emergency rescue boat. He said that during his tenure as the Chief Minister of Gujarat, Shri 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 Shri 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 the facilities to tourists.

Union Home Minister said that a light and sound show has started at Ambaji, flag is hoisted at Pavagadh temple after 500 years, Madhavpur fair has become a national fair, a tent city has been built in Kutch for the 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.  Shri 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 performs their duties in difficult circumstances. He said that Shri Narendra Modi has taken forward the development of tourism, due to which the tourists footfall in Gujaratfrom within the country and around the world has increased many fold. Shri 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, now 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.

Shri Amit Shah said that the efforts made by Prime Minister Shri 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.

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