Folk, tribal dancers give festive touch to flagoff

Varanasi: Almost an hour before it was flagged off, MV Ganga Vilas cruise reached Ravidas Ghat from Inland Waterways Authority of India’s port at Ramnagar with performances by folk and tribal dance groups giving a festive mood to the venue of the ceremony despite dense fog on Friday morning.
Rhythmic musical and dance moves of Karma and Faruwahi dance groups from Sonbhadra and Ayodhya attracted many Swiss tourists to enjoy their performances,.
Many tourists also entered the flag-off ceremony venue when Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Union minister Sarbananda Sonowal reached the dais. But, immediately after Prime Minister Narendra Modi got connected through video conferencing, they ran towards the cruise considering that it would be flagged off immediately.
Before leaving the city on the cruise, a tourist, Hettich, termed her three-day stay in Kashi as memorable for lifetime. “I had a long time wish to see Buddha Stupa (Dhamek Stupa at Sarnath), which was fulfilled in this visit,” she said
Another Swiss tourist on board, Peter said, “I had come to Varanasi for the first time 14 years ago. When I reached this time I found the city, especially infrastructure and sanitation completely changed, which is pleasant.”
A tourist guide, Devendra, who escorted this tourist group said tourists were surprised to see how both life and death are, celebrated in Kashi. The group was impressed with sanitation, he said. Tnn