Centre promoting water tourism, riverfront development: Modi

The Centre is promoting water tourism by undertaking riverfront development and setting a target of increasing the number of cruise ships in the country to 1,000, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Sunday.

"Central government is promoting cruise-based tourism. We have set a target to raise the number of cruise ships to 1,000 from the around 150 in the country now," Modi said, inaugurating the sesquicentenary celebrations of the Kolkata Port Trust at the Netaji Indoor stadium here.

He said the government was also creating the needed infrastructure for aquariums, water parks, sea museums and cruises in cities and clusters connected to ports as part of its riverfront development programme.

"Tourism in West Bengal will get a boost from the riverfront development scheme. When comfortable facilities are created over 32 acres land for viewing the Ganges, the toursts will benefit," he said,

The Prime Minister also said the benefits of expanding cruise tourism will also go to the people of Bengal and the island dwellers in the Bay of Bengal.IANS