Question

Roads are always considered more important than any other means of transportation. Give two reasons in support of the statement.

Answer 1

Hint:- In the primitive time people were not connected to each other. They were orthodox, fragile and hostile in nature. Even when they started to settle in particular places they travelled from one place to another on foot and thus knew a very small world around them.

Complete answer:
Type of transportations-
1. Road transport is a facility to transport goods or people from one place to another by road. The road is the way between two destinations. It's relevant for short or medium distances.
2. Air transportation is one type of transportation where goods and people are transported through flying machines such as aeroplanes. It's good for long distances (even to transport internationally ) and fast services.
3. Railway is also a type of means of transportation where goods or people are transported in heavy amounts on railway routes (gauge).

All of them are great facilities which reduce time and efforts but roads are considered more important due to the following reasons-
1. Cost-effective- Railways, aeroplanes etc. Needs big investment for their setups, construction and maintenance, although air transportations are not a cost-effective means. Railways need big setups of railway lines and a huge investment on their stations, day to day operations or maintenance while the same with the air transportations. But in contrast, roads are the most cost-effective, require less investment on stations or other setups and also its maintenance cost is so low as compared to other means of transportation.

2. Location and feasibility- Railways and airways need proper locations having certain characteristics where the stations or airports can be made. They require an open big ground like space where a train or aeroplane can run or take off. Apparently, stations or airports can't be built in extreme mountain areas. Whereas roads transport overthrow this barrier of them as roads also can be set up in any geographical location either in mountains or through plains. It also connects other means of transportation with each other. In short, they work as a connecting wire of any nation.


Note:- India has the second-largest web of road transportation in the world. India's road density is about 1.80 km of road per square km of land.
- One of the oldest roads of India, rebuilt by the Mughal emperor Sher Shah Suri, the Grand Trunk road or the GT Road was constructed at the time of Chandra Gupta Maurya. It covers the distance of about 3710 kilometres.