Question

Buckingham Canal connects the two states of___
a. Andhra Pradesh and Orissa
b. Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu
c. Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra
d. Karnataka and Kerala

Answer 1

Hint:
The Buckingham Canal is a 796-kilometre long freshwater navigation canal that runs from Kakinada in the East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh to the Viluppuram district of Tamil Nadu, parallel to the Coromandel Coast of South India.

Complete solution:
 During British rule, the canal was built and was an important waterway during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Competition from the rail and later road transport reduced its value, and sections became unusable and badly polluted during the 20th century.

More recently, there has been renewed interest in the canal's ability to protect coastal areas from tsunami and cyclone floods, as well as to provide a navigable waterway, and initiatives to preserve and develop the canal have been undertaken.

The canal was used to transport goods from Vijayawada to Chennai up and down the coast. The 1965/1966 and 1976 cyclones destroyed the canal, and it is little used and not well maintained anymore.

Dr B. Ramalingeswara Rao first established the Buckingham Canal buffer zone when he visited 300 km of coastal areas. He recommended that the government renovate it in order to reduce potential tsunami threats. In 2005, during the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, he also claimed that the Buckingham Canal served as a buffer zone and controlled the coastal region's tsunami waves for nearly 310 kilometres from Pedda Ganjam to Chennai.


Hence, the correct answer is option B.

Note:
The canal is badly polluted by sewage and industrial waste within the city of Chennai, and the silting up of the canal has left the water stagnant, providing an enticing habitat for mosquitoes that spread malaria.