'Revamped' Varanasi ghats to go green - PM Modi set to distribute e-boats to boatmen of Ganga

New Delhi: In yet another move to keep the holy city of Varanasi pollution free and decongested, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will soon distribute e-boats – the country's first – to the famed boatmen of the Ganga river here.

According to reports, the move is being seen as PM Modi's first direct outreach to the famed boatmen of the holy city.

PM Modi will launch the country's first e-boats when he visits his Lok Sabha constituency on Sunday.

As per reports, the PM will flag off a fleet of 11 e-boats on May 1 after an interaction at one of the Ganga ghats with boatmen from the nishad community.

The idea behind the move is to replace the traditional row boats in Varanasi with 3,000 medium-sized battery-operated boats within the span of a year.

The plan is to make it easier for boatmen to row who would only have to steer the boats run by batteries charged through solar power.

"The aim is to make it 100% green. Since the diesel engines will be done away with, the e-boats will generate no noise," said Sushanshu Mehta, who has developed the concept and whose foundation has initiated the project.