50 points
1000 words about Water transport
Answers
Water transport is one of the oldest means of transport in India. Prior to the advent of rail and road transports, goods and people were moved from one place to another through water transport. Since there is almost very small cost involved in the construction and maintenance of waterways this transport system is always cheaper.
According to one estimate the construction of each km of railway and road needs an investment of Rs. 1.0-1.5 crores and Rs. 0.60-0.75 crore respectively whereas only Rs. 0.10 crore is required to develop same length of waterways. Their development is faster and maintenance cost much lower. Waterways are of two types: (a) Inland waterways, and (b) Sea ways or ocean ways also called shipping.
Inland Waterways
Later on the development of roads adversely affected the prospects of such transport. The diversion of river water irrigation canals made many of these rivers unsuitable for navigation,. So much so that today its share is only one per cent in the country’s transport system.
India is a land of many long and perennial rivers. But water transport is not very popular in the country. This is mainly due to seasonal concentration of rainfall, fluctuating river regime, devastating floods during rainy season, shifting river courses (in the Northern Plains) making it difficult to construct permanent jetty or wharf, diversion of large quantity of river water into irrigation canals so as to reduce the depth of water in the river and making it unsuitable for steamers and mechanised boats, heavy silting and formation of sandbars, undulating topography in hilly and plateau regions leading to the formation of a number of rapids, and formation of delta and diversion channels making the mouth narrower for the entry of ships and big boats.
The country has about 14,500 km of navigable waterways which comprises rivers, canals, backwaters, creeks, etc. Of this total length only a length of 3,700 km of major rivers is navigable by mechanised crafts but the length actually utilised is only 2,000 km. As regards canals, out of 4,300 km of navigation canals, only 900 km is suitable for navigation by mechanized crafts. About 160 lakh tonnes of cargo is annually moved by Indiand Wjjter Transport.The most important waterways of the country are : the Ganga Bhagirathi Hugli, the Brahmaputra river , the Barak river, the delta and lower courses of the Mahanadi, Godavari and Krishna rivers, the lower courses of the Narmada and Tapi, the Zuari and Mandovi rivers in Goa, the Kali, Shravati and Netravati in Karnataka.
1.
Step-by-step explanation:
Waterborne Transport. Working at sea is one of the most dangerous forms of employment due to the hazardous nature of the maritime environment. This is aggravated by the fact that ships are both workplace and home: Seafarers are not only exposed to risks and hazards at work, but also in their living environment
Slow Speed: It is a slow means of transport. Failure of monsoon results into fall in the water level of rivers making navigation difficult.
More Risky: Water transport is more risky as compared to other means because there is always danger of sinking ships or boats.