Geography, asked by sheikhinaa, 1 year ago

enumerate the factors which affect the development of inland waterways.

Answers

Answered by ram4441
66
Inland water transport in India

India has about 14,500 km of navigable waterways which comprise rivers, canals, backwaters, creeks, etc. About 50 million tonnes of cargo corresponding to 2.82 billion tonne km was transported in 2005-06 by Inland Water Transport (IWT). Its operations are currently restricted to a few stretches in the Ganga-Bhagirathi-Hooghly Rivers, the Brahmaputra, the Barak River, the rivers in Goa, the backwaters in Kerala, inland waters in Mumbai and the deltaic regions of the Godavari-Krishna rivers.

The decline of river transport began with the construction of the railways during the middle of the 19th century. Later on the development of roads adversely affected the pros¬pects of such transport. 

The diversion of river water irrigation canals made many of these rivers unsuit¬able for navigation. So much so that today its share is only one per cent in the country's transport system.

In other to increase the significance of inland waterways and to improve their efficiency, the government has identified important waterways and designated them as national waterways of India.

► National Waterway No 1 (NW-1) - The Ganga (North India)

The Ganga-Bhagirathi-Hooghly River System connecting Haldia-Kolkata (Calcutta) -Farakka - Munger - Patna - Varanasi - Allahabad is navigable by mechanized boats up to Patna and by ordinary boats up to Haridwar.

The NW-1 stretches to more than 1620 Kms of potentially navigable waterways. Night navigational facilities are in the process of implementation.

► National Waterway No 2 (NW-II) - The Brahmaputra (North-East India)

The river Brahmaputra connecting Dhubri-Pandu (Guwahati)-Tezpur-Neamati-Dibrugarh-Sadiya stretching to about 891 Kms was declared a National Waterway in 1988. Provisions for 2-meter depth channels, night navigational facilities are under consideration. 

An inland Water Transport transit and trade protocol exists between India and Bangladesh. The NW-2 connects the North East region with Calcutta and Haldia ports through Bangladesh and Sunderbans waterways.

► National Waterway No 3 (NW-III) - The West Coast Canal (South West India)

The West Coast Canal located in Gods Own Country - Kerala runs from Kollam to Kottapuram and was declared a National Waterway in 1993.The NW-3 is one of the most navigable and tourism potential area in India and has much to offer to the potential tourist.

► National Waterway 4 (NW 4) 

The Kakinada-Puducherry stretch of Canals and the Kaluvelly Tank, Bhadrachalam - Rajahmundry stretch of River Godavari and Wazirabad - Vijayawada stretch of River Krishna has been declared as national waterways No. 4.

► National Waterway 5 (NW 5) 

The Talcher-Dhamra stretch of river Brahmani, Geonkhali - Charbatia stretch of East Coast Canal, Charbatia- Dhamra stretch of Matai River and Mangalgadi-Paradip stretch of Mahanadi delta rivers has been declared as national waterway No.5.

Advantages of IWT

• Low Capital cost: Cost of development of an inland waterway is mere 5 – 10 % of the cost of building an equivalent four-lane highway.
• Low maintenance cost: Cost of maintenance of inland waterway is placed at 20 % of that of roads.
• Low fuel cost: IWT is highly fuel efficient. It has been estimated that one litre of fuel can move 24 tonne-km of freight by road, 85 by trains and 105 by IWT.

Factors affecting Inland waterways:

1. Diversion of river water for irrigation canals has reduced the flow of water and declined the navigation capacity of the rivers.
2. The presence of waterfalls, cataracts and sharp bends hinders the development of waterways.
3. Silting of river bed reduces the depth of water and creates problem for navigation.
4. Lack of funds.
5. Insufficient depth throughout the stretch of navigable waters.
6. Non availability of low draft high technology vessels.
7. Non availability of navigational aids resulted in restricted sailing over a long period.
8. Most of the large rivers of the country enter the sea through shallow sand chocked delta channels. Thus navigation is hampered unless dredging is done.

Answered by cyrusbishop
42

The factors are - a)  Inland waterways should be plenty, b) Rivers and canal should be deep flow, c)  the rivers should be deep for waterfalls, d)  there need industries should be developed for that reason water will be needed, e)  Government should set up many waterways with the Nationalized marking,  f) lack of money affects to develop inland waterways.

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