Question

Which one of the following rivers is declared National Waterway No.1?
(A) Indus
(B) Ganga
(C) Godavari
(D) Brahmaputra

Answer 1

Hint: In 2016, the National Waterways Act took effect. It recommended 106 new National Waterways and integrated 5 existing Actions proclaimed by the 5 National Waterways.

Complete answer:
The Ganga-Bhagirathi-Hooghly River System that links Haldia-Kolkata-Farakka-Munger-Patna-Varanasi-Allahabad is the National Waterway No.1. It stretches to quite 1620 kms of potentially navigable waterways. From time immemorial Ganga has been the holy river of Hinduism. Ganga is a long and slow stream that passes through one of the world's most fertile and heavily populated areas. Iit's navigable by mechanised boats upto Patna and by ordinary boats. Given its locational advantages, it is of prime significance among all the national waterways.

West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh are crossed by the NW-1 and represent major cities and their commercial hinterlands. After the establishment of the IWAI, it became operational on 27 Oct 1986. The waterway stretches for a total of 1620 km from Haldia to Allahabad. From Haldia to Nabadwip, the Hooghly river part of the waterway is tidal. Seagoing vessels navigate up to Calcutta (140 kms) and also the fairway up to Calcutta is maintained by the Calcutta Port Trust The stretch of the river assigned as NW-1 is still used today to carry freight, mainly local goods and visitors.

So the correct answer is option (B) Ganga.

Note: Transportation plays an important role in a nation's growth, and for a developing country like India, it is of great importance. The nation is equipped with a variety of varied topography that requires numerous forms of transport. India has approximately 14500 km of rivers that are navigable.