Question

The Ganga river between Allahabad and Haldia is being termed as :
A. N.W.NO.1
B. N.W.NO.2
C. N.W.NO.3
D. N.W.NO.4

Answer 1

Hint: i) It is situated in Ganga-Bhagirathi-Hooghly river system and passes through the Ganges, Bhagirathi, and Hooghly river systems from Haldia (Sagar) to Prayagraj.
ii) It is 1,620 km (1,010 mi) long, which makes it India's longest waterway. Given its locational advantages, it is of prime importance among all the national waterways.
iii) It crosses West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh and serves major cities as well as their industrial hinterlands.

Complete answer:
As per the National Waterways Act, 2016, there are 111 officially notified Inland National Waterways (NWs) in India designated for the purposes of inland water transport. In 2016, 106 were produced out of the 111 NWs. Around 20,275.5 km is provided by the NW network. NW-1, 2, & 3 are operational now.

A. N.W.NO.1 :The NW-1 stretch from Allahabad to Haldia is known as the Ganga-Bhagirathi-Hooghly river system (1620km). This waterway was declared in 1986 as a National Waterway. The NW-1 is being built with financial assistance of US$375 million from the World Bank at an approximate cost of about 4,200 crore.

B. N.W.NO.2 :Brahmaputra from Dhubri to Sadiyawas proclaimed 1988 , National Waterway No.2 vide National Waterway (Sadiya-Dhubri stretch of the Brahmaputra river) Act 1988. The waterway stretches for a distance of 891 km from Dhubri to Sadiya.

The Brahmaputra River flows through the middle of the Assam Valley, receiving a number of tributaries. A very significant traditional IWT route is the Brahmapu-tra, along with its continuous water routes leading to the ports of Kolkata and Haldia.

C. N.W.NO.3 :The West Coast Canal or National Waterway No 3 is a 168-km stretch of this inland waterway situated in Kerala, India, which runs from Kollam to Kottapuram and was declared a National Waterway in 1993.

In Kerala, waterways have always been a significant mode of transport. The total length of the navigable route in Kerala is 1,900 km (1,200 mi) and about 54% of the waterways are navigable rivers.

D. N.W.NO.4 :In India, National Waterway 4 (NW-4) is a 1,095 km (680 mi) long waterway. It has been designated and is currently under construction as an Indian National Waterway. It connects Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and the Union Territory of Puducherry in the Indian States. By joining the Krishna and Godavari Rivers, the National Waterways Act, 2016 has extended the length of NW-4 from 1,078 km (670 mi) to 2,890 km (1,800 mi).

Thus the correct answer is option (A).

Note:
1. Two forms of waterways are primarily present:
a) Inland waterways - Inland waterways consist of navigable rivers, dams, canals, backwaters, etc.
b) Sea Routes - Sea routes are primarily used globally to transport goods.

2. The following are the variations between inland rivers and sea routes, Inland waterways are used to move goods within a land mass from one location to another while sea routes typically pass goods from one land mass to another via the oceans and seas.