VARANASI: The 5-star luxury tourist cruise Alaknanda embarked on its maiden trip in the city on Sunday. On board the cruise, chief minister Yogi Adityanath took the inaugural ride from Khidkiya Ghat to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s adopted village Domari situated on the opposite bank of the Ganga.Tourists can watch ‘Ganga aarti’ at Dashshwamedh ghat and ‘Subah-e-Banaras’ at Assi ghat. Amid chanting of vedic mantras and ‘Har Har Mahadev’ Yogi inaugurated the 60-seater vessel with a modern kitchen on the upper deck.The CM enquired about the features of the cruise like seating capacity, minimum depth of water required for its operation, and its speed from the operator. Director of cruise service Vikas Malvyia informed him that the lower deck accommodates 60 passengers while there is a 24-seat restaurant on the upper deck. The cruise requires minimum water depth of five feet. The CM was accompanied by UP minister Neelkanth Tiwari.The cruise, a 30-metre double-decked modern line, is a startup venture of Varanasi based Nordic Cruiseline. With a full-fledged kitchen it offers popular dishes of Varanasi like Kachori-Jalebi, Samosas and Bati-Chokha. It will run between Assi Ghat and Panchganga Ghat for a two-hour ride of around 12 km in the morning and evening.The early morning cruise offers a splendid view of the entire riverfront bathed in the golden sunrise. The slow cruise allows the viewers to take in every detail of the magnificent heritage at each of the 84 ghats. The cruising will allow the tourists to see the sun setting over the skyline as well as the evening Ganga Aarti.The vessel is also available for recreational activities.

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