Inland WaterwaysIndia has a wide network of inland waterways in the form of rivers, canals, backwaters and creeks. The total length of these waterways is 14,500 km, out of which about 5,200 km of river and 485 km of canals can be used by mechanized crafts. However, India has no such significant development in freight transportation by waterways, as compared to other developed countries like USA, China and European countries.
There are three inland waterways having the status of National Waterways. These are depicted below:-
National Waterways 1 (NW – 1): Allahabad to Haldia stretch (1620 km) of the Ganga-Bhagirathi-Hoogly river system
National Waterways 2 (NW – 2): Sadiya-Dhubri stretch (891 km) of the Brahmaputra River
National Waterways 3 (NW – 3): Kottapuram-Kollam stretch (168 km) of the West Coast Canal along with Champakara canal (923 km) and Udyogmandal canal (14 km)
Shipping & PortsIndia has a 7617 km coastline. About 95% of India’s foreign trade by volume and 70% by value moves through ports. There are 12 major ports in India namely, Haldia, Paradip, Vishakhapatnam, Chennai, Ennore and Tuticorin on the east coast; and Cochin, New Mangalore, Mormugao, Jawaharlal Nehru (JNPT), Mumbai and Kandla on the west coast. There are also 185 minor or intermediate ports controlled by the concerned maritime state governments.
Related Links
Links to Major Ports