Inland waterways of India

Inland Water Ways of India

India has an extensive network of inland waterways in the form of rivers, canals, backwaters and creeks. The total navigable length is 14,500 km (9,000 mi), out of which about 5,200 km (3,200 mi) of the river and 4,000 km (2,500 mi) of canals can be used by mechanised crafts. Freight transport by waterways is highly under-utilised in India compared to other large countries and geographic areas like the United States, China and the European Union. The total cargo moved (in tonne kilometres) by inland waterways was 0.1 percent of the total inland traffic in India, compared to the 21 percent figure for the United States. Cargo transport in an organised manner is confined to a few waterways in Goa, West Bengal, Assam and Kerala.

The cost of water transport in India is roughly 50 paise (0.70¢ US) a kilometre, as compared to ₹1 (1.4¢ US) by railways and ₹1.5 (2.1¢ US) by roads.[1] Water transport is receiving significant attention in recent times as logistics costs in India are some of the highest among major countries—it is 18 percent in India versus 8-10 percent in China and 10-12 percent in the European Union.[2] To increase the share of waterways in inland transport, Modi government got the National Waterways Act, 2016 passed which proposed 106 additional National Waterways.[3] Inland waterways in India consist of the Ganges-Bhagirathi-Hooghly rivers, the Brahmaputra, the Barak river, the rivers in Goa, the backwaters in Kerala, inland waters in Mumbai and the deltaic regions of the Godavari-Krishna rivers. About 44 million tonnes (49,000,000 short tons) of cargo is moved annually through these waterways using mechanised vessels and country boats.[4]

National Waterways

Buckingham Canal in Andhra Pradesh

Inland Waterways and National Waterways development

Participation of Government Agencies, Public & Private Sector Enterprises in IWT/NW development
Vessels / TerminalsConstruction, Operation & MaintenanceGovernment AgenciesPublic Sector EnterprisesPrivate Sector Enterprises
WaterwayConstructing of waterwayIWAICIWTC in Sundarbans-
WaterwayMaintenance of WaterwayIWAISubcontracted DredgingSubcontracted Dredging
WaterwayNavigational SupportIWAIPorts, near port areas GPS suppliers (KPT, Port of Panaji)-
Carriers
(Vessels)		Vessel Manufacturing-CIWTC, Hooghly Docks, Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers (GRSE)Several
Carriers
(Vessels)		Vessel ownershipIWAICIWTC/KSINCL and othersSeveral
Carriers
(Vessels)		Vessel maintenance/repair-CIWTC/KSINCL and othersSeveral
Carriers
(Vessels)		Vessel Operation-CIWTC/KSINCL and othersSeveral
Terminals
(Jetties)		Terminal constructionIWAI and State GovernmentMormugao Port Trust, CIWTCSeveral
Terminals
(Jetties)		Terminal operation-Mormugao Port TrustSeveral

Notes: IWAI - Inland Waterways Authority of India CIWTC - Central Inland Water Transport Corporation KSINCL- Kerala State Inland Navigation Company Limited

References

  1. ↑ "Maruti Suzuki planning to transport vehicles via inland waterways". news. Economic Times. 25 July 2016. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
  2. ↑ PTI (12 August 2016). "Government to spend Rs 50,000 crore on river front development: Nitin Gadkari". news. The Economic Times. Retrieved 12 August 2016.
  3. ↑ "Gazette Notification" (PDF). Gazette of India. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
  4. ↑ INTRODUCTION TO INLAND WATER TRANSPORT
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