Question

i. State the difference between an expressway and a highway.
ii. Name the first expressway constructed in the country.
iii. State a reason why the Northern River is more suitable for navigation than the Deccan Rivers.

Answer 1

Hint:
-A highway is basically used for important roads, but also comprises other public roads and public tracks.
-Expressways are the highest category of roads in India.
-North Indian rivers are those which have their origin in the Himalayas. It includes the Indus, the Ganga and the Brahmaputra.

CompleteAnswer:
1.The primary difference between an expressway and a highway is the access control.
Expressways have regulated access in which a vehicle can permeate only through a restricted place and no other road converges with it anywhere. Thus, it helps in preventing probable accidents. Whereas in the case of highways, there are multiple roads which converge with the highways at several places.
 - Highways connect major cities, towns etc, and usually have 4 lanes to deliver high speed traffic. But the expressway has little access and comprises various powers like access ramps, lane dividers etc.

2. Ahmedabad- Vadodara expressway was the first expressway to be established in the country. It is also known as the Mahatma Gandhi Expressway or National Expressway 1 which links Ahmedabad and Vadodara in the state of Gujarat, India. It is 93.1 km long and lessens the travel time between the two cities. It was proclaimed as National Expressway 1 in 1986.

3.The Himalayan Rivers are not adequate for the production of hydel power though their origin is in the Himalaya. But the South Indian Rivers are adequate for the generation of hydel power as they are rapidly flowing along the rocky topography. The middle and lower paths of these rivers are navigable for long distances.

-Northern plains are fed with a number of rivers which have water in them throughout the year. But in the Deccan area the rainfall is seasonal and they get rainfall only during the monsoon season, that is from june to september while the rest of the year the rivers remain dry. The seasonal streams are existing there which have water in them only during monsoon seasons .
Therefore, they are suitable to be used for navigation in monsoons but in northern plains with the assistance of perennial rivers navigation can be done year long. Hence, they are preferred for this purpose over the Deccan rivers.

Note:
The longest highway in India is NH 44 which runs from Srinagar to Kanyakumari. It is 3745 kilometres long.
-The Pan-American Highway is the world's longest highway.
-The Ganges is the longest river in India which is about 2525 km long and also the largest river in India. The states that are surrounded by this water body are Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and West Bengal.