WATER TRANSPORT IN INDIA
INTRODUCTION :-
Water transport in India is one of the cheapest modes of transportation.
In 2015–16, the Government of India, declared 106 "National
Waterways" (NW) under Inland Waterways Authority of India to reduce
the cost of transportation and lower the carbon footprint by moving the
traffic from surface roads and railroads to waterways.
Water transport is the most easy and cheap mode of transport. Unlike
rail and road transport we do not have to construct water ways because
river and seas are given by nature. Water transport plays important role
in case of international trade. During natural calamities like heavy rain
and flood, when rail and road transport are not workable, rescue
operations Before independence, there were many private shipping
companies. But after independence. Eastern shipping corporation was
established in 1950, in 1956 Western shipping corporation was set up. In
1961 Indian Shipping Corporation was set up merging the two
corporations are undertaken by water transport.
The share of India’s inland water transport (IWT) cargo traffic to the
logistics market is significantly lower at 0.5 as compared to China at 8.7
percent, the US at 8.3 percent and Europe at 7 percent. However, the
Indian IWT landscape holds immense potential due to its characteristic
advantages over other modes of transportation, especially for coal
movement.
India has about 14,500 km of navigable inland waterways, of which 5,200
km (36 percent) of major rivers and 485 km (3 percent) of canals are
conducive to the movement of mechanised vessels. Among these
navigable waterways, five National Waterways (NWs) — NWs 1, 2, 3, 4
and 5, spanning approximately 4,400 km — have been outlined as
potential inland waterways at the Ganges and Brahmaputra rivers, the
West Coast Canal, the Godavari and Krishna rivers, and the East Coast
Canal, respectively. NW 6, which stretches across 121 km, has been
proposed on the Barak River.
The length of water ways in India is maximum in Uttar Pradesh followed
by West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Assam and Kerla. The Buckingham
Canal (640 km) long is the longest navigable canal of the country.
The Internal Waterways Authority of India was established in 1986 for
the purpose of development maintenance and regulation of the internal
waterways of India. Its headquarters is in Kolkata.
There are 13 major and 200 minor/intermediate ports along the 7517
kms long coastline of India. All the major ports work under the ambit of
Major Ports Trust Act, 1963.
The major ports are controlled by the central Government while the
medium and minor ports are included in the concurrent list of the
constitution and are managed and administered by the respective states.
Water transportation is the intentional movement of water over large
distances.
Due to its weight, transportation of water is very energy intensive. Unless
it has the assistance of gravity, a canal or long-distance pipeline will need
pumping stations at regular intervals. In this regard, the lower friction
levels of the canal make it a more economical solution than the pipeline.
Water transportation is also very common along rivers and oceans.
AIMS & OBJECTIVES OF WATER TRANSPORT IN INDIA:-
To examine the implications and the limitations of the mass
transport systems in the city with the emphasis on the water
transport.
To established the viability of water transport over bus transport.
To assess the potential of inland water transport to serve as a
complimentary transportation option.
To evolve a frame work for the effective utilisation of the ways and
infrastructure, assuring inter-modal co-ordination and public
private partnership.
To provide alternate transport for INDIA using its waterways.
To develop infrastructure on International Standards.
To provide safe, affordable and comfortable transport for
passengers.
To operate services throughout the year.
To Understand :-
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. Besides
the organised operations by mechanised vessels, country boats of various
capacities also operate in various rivers and canals. Data of cargo and
passenger movement in unorganised sector (i.e. by country boats, etc.)
has not been compiled (for which efforts are on) but it is a fact that
substantial quantum of cargo and passengers are transported in the
unorganised sector as well. Considering the inherent advantages of this
mode in terms of fuel efficiency, environment friendliness and cost
effectiveness, the Govt. of India is trying to develop this mode to make it
an effect supplementary mode of transportation vis-a-vis rail and road
modes.
The Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) came into existence on
27 October 1986 for development and regulation of inland waterways for
shipping and navigation. The Authority primarily undertakes projects for
development and maintenance of IWT infrastructure on national
waterways through grant received from Ministry of Shipping, Road
Transport and Highways. The head office of the Authority is located at
Noida. The Authority also has its regional offices at Patna, Kolkata,
Guwahati and Kochi and sub-offices at Allahabad, Varanasi, Bhagalpur
and Kollam.
TO STUDY :-
