Boatman turns ‘hero’ after ferrying PM Modi on the Ganges

What began as an ordinary Friday morning turned extraordinary within minutes for a city boatman, who found himself rowing none other than Prime Minister Narendra Modi across the Ganga in Kolkata.

Gouranga Biswas, the boatman operating out of Princep Ghat, had little inkling that his routine assignment would transform into an once-in-a-lifetime experience. Within hours, he went from being an unrecognised face along the riverfront to a subject of curiosity and admiration among peers and locals. Biswas works on boats owned by Mohammad Iftikar Ahmed, who reportedly received an urgent requisition on Friday morning from higher authorities for several boats to be made available for a VVIP visit. “We were told that someone important would be taking a ride and that the payment would be made accordingly. We had no idea who it was,” Biswas said.

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The surprise came moments later when he saw the Prime Minister approaching his boat. Dressed in simple attire, wearing sunglasses and carrying a camera, Modi boarded the vessel and expressed his wish to take a ride midstream and capture photographs of the cityscape. “I was stunned. It felt like a dream,” Biswas recounted. “He asked me to steer the boat towards the middle of the river. I followed his instructions while he kept taking pictures with his own camera.” The Prime Minister spent some time on the boat, interacting informally with the boatman during the ride.

According to Biswas, Modi also spoke about the importance of harmony and coexistence. At the end of the brief journey, he greeted the boatman warmly and even embraced him before disembarking. The episode has since made Biswas something of a “hero” among fellow boatmen, many of whom gathered around him to hear the account of his unusual passenger.

The Prime Minister’s river ride, however, also drew political reactions. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee criticised the visit, terming it “photo politics”. She contrasted the condition of the Ganga in West Bengal with that of the Yamuna in Delhi, alleging that while the Ganga here remains relatively clean, the Yamuna continues to suffer from severe pollution. “Good that he took a boat ride here. He should also take a dip in the Yamuna in Delhi and see its condition,” she remarked, sharpening the political exchange amid the ongoing election season. Even as political sparring continues, for Gouranga Biswas, the brief encounter remains a personal milestone ~ an unforgettable morning when an ordinary day on the river turned into an extraordinary memory.