essay on water transport in india

Short essay on Water Transport system in India

Water transport is one of the oldest means of transport in India. Prior to the advent of rail and road transports, goods and people were moved from one place to another through water transport. Since there is almost very small cost involved in the construc­tion and maintenance of waterways this transport system is always cheaper.

According to one estimate the construction of each km of railway and road needs an investment of Rs. 1.0-1.5 crores and Rs. 0.60-0.75 crore respectively whereas only Rs. 0.10 crore is required to develop same length of water­ways. Their development is faster and maintenance cost much lower. Waterways are of two types: (a) Inland waterways, and (b) Sea ways or ocean ways also called shipping.

Inland Waterways

Inland waterways refer to using inland water bodies like rivers, canals, backwaters, creeks, etc for transporting goods and people from one place to another. India has a long historical tradition of using such waterways. Ganga, Brahmaputra, Indus, Yamuna, Mahanadi, Godavari, Krishna, Kaveri, Narmada and Tapi etc. were the main arteries of the country’s transport system giving birth to a number of inland river ports and jetties. The decline of river transport began with the construction of the railways during the middle of the 19th century.

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Later on the development of roads adversely affected the pros­pects of such transport. The diversion of river water irrigation canals made many of these rivers unsuit­able for navigation,. So much so that today its share is only one per cent in the country’s transport system.

India is a land of many long and perennial rivers. But water transport is not very popular in the country. This is mainly due to seasonal concentra­tion of rainfall, fluctuating river regime, devastating floods during rainy season, shifting river courses (in the Northern Plains) making it difficult to construct permanent jetty or wharf, diversion of large quantity of river water into irrigation canals so as to reduce the depth of water in the river and making it unsuit­able for steamers and mechanised boats, heavy silt­ing and formation of sandbars, undulating topogra­phy in hilly and plateau regions leading to the forma­tion of a number of rapids, and formation of delta and diversion channels making the mouth narrower for the entry of ships and big boats.

The country has about 14,500 km of naviga­ble waterways which comprises rivers, canals, back­waters, creeks, etc. Of this total length only a length of 3,700 km of major rivers is navigable by mecha­nised crafts but the length actually utilised is only 2,000 km. As regards canals, out of 4,300 km of navigation canals, only 900 km is suitable for navigation by mechanized crafts. About 160 lakh tonnes of cargo is annually moved by Indiand Wjjter Transport.

The most important wa­terways of the country are : the Ganga Bhagirathi Hugli, the Brahmaputra river , the Barak river, the delta and lower courses of the Mahanadi, Godavari and Krishna rivers, the lower courses of the Narmada and Tapi, the Zuari and Mandovi rivers in Goa, the Kali, Shravati and Netravati in Karnataka.

The back­waters and lagoons in Kerala and the Buckingham Canal of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. Uttar Pradesh has the highest length of navigable inland waterways (2,441 km or 17.01 per cent) of the country followed by West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Kerala and Bihar (Table 25.IX).

1. The Ganga

The Ganga river provides an important inland waterway for the country. It is a perennial river fed by Monsoon rains during rainy season and melting of the snow during dry summer days. On its 2,510 km length from snow to the sea it passes through most densely populated parts of the country and nurturing a number of premier cities of north India like Hardwar, Kanpur, Allahabad, Mirzapur, Varanasi, Ghazipur, Patna.Munger, Murshidabadand Kolkata.

Despite heavy diversion of water to irrigation canals its main channel still maintains a depth of more than 10 metres from Patna downstream. Recently the river has been made navigable up to Allahabad and regular steamer service has started between Haldia and Allahabad. Some of the tributaries of the Ganga like Yamuna, Ghaghara, Gandak, and Gomati may also be utilised for navigation.

The Hugli River is an important distributary of the Ganga in its delta course and is intensively used for river navigation between Kolkata and Diamond Harbour. Silting and consequent decrease in thi depth of water is the main obstacle in this navigation. The Farakka Barrage Project supplies 15,000-21,000 cusecs of water through a 42-km long canal to improve flow and clear silt deposits.

2. The Brahmaputra

The Brahmaputra River is navigable by steam­ers throughout the year from its mouth to Tezpur and sometimes upto Dibrugarh (1,280 km). It carries Assam oil. Tea, timber and jute to Kolkata. Pandu, Jogighopa and Dibrugarh are important river ports. Navigation is difficult in the river due to barrier effects of Bangladesh, presence of river islands, sand banks and shoals and very strong current of the river during rairily season.

3. Peninsular Rivers

Peninsular rivers are mainly rained and go dry during the dry season. Hence, these are not very suitable for navigation. Some transport is carried on in their lower reaches where ground is flat and quantity of water is satisfactory. Narmada, Tapi, Mahanadi, Godavari, Krishna and Kaveri are such rivers navigable in their lower courses.

The Zuari and Mandovi rivers of Goa trans­port iron ores, manganese and timber to Marmagao port. The creeks of the West Coast Rivers like Kali, Sharavati and Netravati etc. also provide navigation facilities.

The Buckingham Canal (412.8 km) is an important navigation canal in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. It runs parallel to the eastern coast joining all the coastal districts from Guntur to South Arcot. It is 315 km long north of Chennai and 100 km south of it. Its northern part connects the Kommamur Canal of the Krishna delta, while the southern part terminates in Marakkanupi backwaters. The construction of the Vijayawada-Chennai rail line has adversely affected the canal traffic. It is now mainly used for the transport of salt and fire wood to Chennai city.

Similarly Kurnool-Cuddapah Canal (116.8 km), Son Canal (326.4 km), Orissa Canal (272 km), Medinipur Canal (459.2 km), Damodar Canal (136 km) and West Coast Canal (connecting major ports along the western coast) are also used for inland navigation. Some of the irrigation canals of Uttar Pradesh and Punjab are also utilised for local transport.

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Developing India's First Modern Inland Waterway

The waterway’s stretch between Kolkata and Delhi passes through one of India’s most densely populated areas.  A sizeable forty percent of all India’s traded goods either originate from this resource-rich region or are destined for its teeming markets.  While the region is estimated to generate about 370 million tonnes of freight annually, only a tiny fraction of this - about 5 million tonnes - currently travels by water.

Currently, cargo from the Gangetic states of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh takes circuitous land routes to reach the sea ports of Mumbai in Maharashtra and Kandla in Gujarat, rather than going to the much-closer port at Kolkata.  The development of NW1 will help these states direct some of their freight to the Kolkata-Haldia complex, making the movement of freight more reliable and reducing logistics costs significantly.

The World Bank is financing the development of the Ganga waterway with a loan of $ 375 million.  The Capacity Augmentation of National Waterway 1 Project will help put in place the infrastructure and services needed to ensure that NW1 emerges as an efficient transport artery in this important economic region.  

Once operational, the waterway will form part of the larger multi-modal transport network being planned along the river.  It will link up with the Eastern Dedicated Rail Freight Corridor, as well as with the area’s existing network of highways.  This web of water, road and rail arteries will help the region’s industries and manufacturing units switch seamlessly between different modes of transport as they send their goods to markets in India and abroad. Farmers in the agriculturally-rich Gangetic plain will also benefit, as the waterway opens up markets further afield. 

Setting up Navigational Infrastructure

Since the absence of essential infrastructure such as cargo terminals and jetties has been one of the reasons for the slow development of water transport in the region, the Project will help establish six multi-modal freight terminals - at Varanasi, Ghazipur, Kalughat, Sahibgunj, Triveni and Haldia.  In addition, five new Roll On-Roll Off (RO-RO) crossings at different locations will help trucks and other vehicles transfer from road to river and vice versa. The six new cargo terminals have the potential to evolve into thriving logistics hubs, providing jobs for thousands of people in one of the poorest and most populous parts of the country. The Project will also help set up a vessel repair and maintenance facility at Doriganj.

In addition, the Project will support the modernization of the ageing Farakka lock, built some 40 years ago.  At present, vessels often have to wait for up to six hours to cross the lock; nor is two-way traffic possible through its narrow gates.  To facilitate the faster and smoother passage of boats through the passage, the lock will not only be upgraded but a new lock will also be built, allowing barges to travel both upstream and downstream simultaneously.  These improvements will dramatically reduce the time taken to cross the lock.

Furthermore, the Project will help set up a state-of-the-art River Information System (RIS). Among its many benefits, the RIS will enable barge-operators and cargo-owners to track their vessels, locate berths in advance in terminals and better plan their logistics.  To make navigation safe both day and night, the Project will help mark out the central channel for boats to ply in and install night navigation facilities. Besides, detailed protocols are being laid down for dealing with emergencies, including for tackling the spillage of oil from boats. 

‘Working with Nature’

Since the Ganga occupies a special place in the social, cultural and environmental landscape of the country, the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) has sought to adopt the least intrusive methods of making the river navigable. It has therefore followed the principle of ‘working with nature’ while planning the Ganga waterway.

Unlike many of the world’s major watercourses, the Ganga is a seasonal river that swells with the monsoon rains and recedes in the dry winters.  While small boats can indeed ply along this seasonal river, large cargo barges need a minimum depth to sail in.  Shipping on the Ganga has thus been limited by the varying depths of water found in the river. Currently, traffic is largely limited to the river’s downstream stretch between Farakka and the Haldia where the water is deep enough - 2.5 m to 3.0 m - for boats to sail in throughout the year.  

Typically, making such a river navigable would call for large scale dredging of the riverbed to attain the depth needed by larger boats, especially for large barges carrying up to 2,000 tonnes of cargo. In the Ganga’s case, special care has been taken to accommodate such vessels while keeping the need for dredging to the minimum.

A 45 metre-wide channel has been earmarked in the river’s deepest part, and the Least Available Depths (LAD) needed for navigation has been determined keeping in mind the need to reduce dredging.  The channel’s depth thus follows the river’s natural gradient in different stretches and is sufficient to support the two-way movement of large barges.

These measures will reduce the need for dredging to just 1.5 percent of the river’s annual silt load of 10-11 million cubic metres.  Even this limited dredging will only be done when absolutely necessary and then too using modern, less intrusive technologies. Among these technologies is the proposed water injection method that will use water pressure to liquefy silt deposits and wash them away. The dense slurry that results will then be deposited - either naturally or through induced currents - into depressions along the riverbed, ensuring that sediments remain within the river’s ecosystem.

Where large shoals and islands exist, temporary structures made of natural materials such as bamboo will be erected to channelize the water flow. These temporary structures – or ‘ bandals ’ as they are known – will be especially erected near aquatic sanctuaries to protect the Ganga’s diverse fauna.  

Contracts will also be tailored to reduce the need for dredging.

Protecting Aquatic Biodiversity

IWAI is also ensuring that water traffic does not impact the two aquatic wildlife sanctuaries that fall along this stretch of the river -- the Kashi Turtle Sanctuary at Varanasi and the Vikramshila Dolphin Sanctuary at Bhagalpur.

As a first step, information about these protected aquatic habitats and other sensitive areas such as wetlands will be fed into the new River Information System being developed under the World Bank-supported Project.  This will ensure that vessels plying in these areas comply with the operational framework that has been put into place for minimizing impacts in sensitive zones. This framework includes:

·         A ban on dredging in protected habitat areas

·         In other areas that are known to be the habitat of valued aquatic species, no dredging will be allowed in the breeding and spawning seasons. 

·         The speed of barges travelling along the protected areas of the sanctuaries will be restricted to 5km per hour. 

·         All vessels plying on the Ganga will be fitted with noise control and animal exclusion devices so that aquatic life is not unduly disturbed. 

·         All vessels will also have to comply with `zero discharge’ standards to prevent solid or liquid waste from flowing into the river and affecting its biodiversity.  

• Project Documents
• Board Approval Press Release

The inland waterways authority has identified ten additional inland waterways. Kerala’s backwaters have a special significance as a mode of transportation as well as a popular tourist attraction. The Nehru Trophy Boat Race is also held here.

India’s coastline is over 7,517 kilometres long, making huge vessels easier to convey. The country has 12 main and 185 small ports that provide vessels with the necessary infrastructure.

The Oceanic routes also support 95% of India’s foreign trade by volume and more than 70% by value, which goes from India to other countries. They also provide access to the islands.

The National Waterways Act aids in the management of the country’s waterways. It became effective in the year 2016. In addition to the pre-existing one, the act suggested 106 national waterways and consolidated 5 existing statutes that had designated the 5 national waterways.

Out of the 111 national waterways proclaimed by the National Waterways Act, 13 are active for shipping and navigation and are used by cargo or passenger vessels. The government of India established the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) in accordance with the National Waterways Act to regulate and develop the inland waterways used for navigation and shipping.

• Savings on costs.
• It is fuel and energy efficient when compared to other forms of transportation, such as rail and road.
• The cost of building waterways is substantially lower than rail and road.
• Transport and transition losses are reduced.
• Friendly to the environment.
• Fuel consumption per tonne-km is the lowest.
• Trucks emit 50% of carbon dioxide.
• In comparison to rail and road transportation, there is no need for land.
• Reduces road and rail congestion.
• Reduces traffic congestion and accidents on the road.
• Combining river transportation with other modes will produce an optimal modal mix.
• It contributes to the creation of seamless interconnectivity by connecting hinterlands along navigable river coasts and coastal roads.
• Inland Waterways have enormous possibilities for domestic cargo transportation, cruises, tourism, and passenger travel.
• Inland waterway development will develop new job opportunities take place.

Disadvantages

• As they have slow transport speeds, they are unsuitable for situations where time is of the essence.
• It has a limited operating area due to infrastructural constraints and the depth of the waterways.
• They do not provide door-to-door cargo transportation.
• Disruptions in operations.
• Weather is a significant disadvantage.

National Waterways in India

Government initiatives, the inland waterways authority of india act, 1985.

The Act establishes an Authority for the management and development of inland waterways for the purposes of shipping and navigation, as well as things relating to it. The Inland Waterways Authority of India was established in 1986. Through a grant from the Ministry of Shipping, it implements initiatives for developing and maintaining IWT infrastructure on national waterways.

The Indian Vessels Act of 1917 (as revised in 2007)

It is concerned with the survey and registration of inland vessels, the elimination of barriers in navigation, the carriage of goods and passengers, the prevention and management of pollution, and so on.

 Inland Water Transport Policy 2001

The policy states that IWT is a cost-effective, fuel-efficient, and environmentally benign means of transportation. It encourages large-scale private sector participation in infrastructure development and fleet operations.

Jal Marg Vikas Project (JMVP)

It aims at capacity augmentation of navigation on National Waterway-1 (NW-1), along the river Ganga. It is being implemented at a cost of Rs 5369.18 crore with the technical assistance and investment support of the World Bank. The Project is expected to be completed by March 2023.

Project Arth Ganga

With the local community’s help and an emphasis on economic activities in and along the Ganga River, Project Arth Ganga aims to re-engineer the JMVP. As part of the “Project Arth Ganga” to revitalise economic activity in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, and West Bengal, small jetties along the Ganga will be constructed to enhance local economic activities.

 The National Waterways Act of 2016

The National (inland) Waterways Act designated 111 rivers or river sections, creeks, and estuaries as National (inland) Waterways. It permits the Central Government to regulate the growth of these waterways in terms of shipping, navigation, and transport via mechanically propelled vessels.

Inland Vessels Bill 2021

The bill proposes to replace the Inland Vessels Act of 1917. It establishes a national regulatory framework for inland vessel transportation. It aims to increase openness and accountability in inland water transportation administration, as well as to tighten procedures governing inland vessels’ construction, survey, registration, manning, and navigation.

Sagarmala Project

In addition to developing coast trade routes, the Sagarmala project aims to expand inland waterways to drive industrial development. It intends to save logistical costs by tripling the number of domestic waterways in the modal mix from the existing 6%. (PIB)

River Interlinking Program

Through navigation, the initiative is projected to provide potential benefits to the transportation sector.

Strengthening public-private partnership has a key role to play in developing the inland waterways sector. Private players can undertake terminal development, cargo and passenger handling, and building low-draft vessels and related repair facilities.

Measures should be taken to develop basic infrastructure, address technological bottlenecks and maintenance of rivers to ensure year-round navigability

Measures should be taken to ensure the availability of seamless, multimodal last-mile connectivity to and from the hinterland to reduce trans-shipment costs and make inland water transport economically more viable.

Article Written By: Atheena Fathima Riyas

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Key Issues & Challenges for Inland Water Transportation Network in India

The authors explore transport and trade as two broad service sectors of inland water resources. An attempt is made to find out the key issues and challenges from this sector with the evolving understanding of Indian inland water transportation system. The paper explains the background of inland water transport sector in India along with the discussion of issues and challenges faced by the same. The authors state that co-operation and co-ordination between inter-state governments is a strategic element to expand the network of inland water transport system in India beyond state boundaries. Conclusively, the prospect of inland navigation looks promising, wherein issues on infrastructural gaps and institutional support are addressed suitably.

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Water Transport System in India

Water transport is the most easy and cheap mode of transport. Unlike rail and road transport we do not have to construct water ways because river and seas are given by nature.

Water transport plays important role in case of international trade.

During natural calamities like heavy rain and flood, when rail and road transport are not workable, rescue operations are undertaken by water transport.

Before independence, there were many private shipping companies. But after independence. Eastern shipping corporation was established in 1950, in 1956 Western shipping corporation was set up. In 1961 Indian Shipping Corporation was set up merging the two corporations.

1. Inland Transport :

Generally speaking Inland water transport refers to the transport facilities available in the navigable waters, canals and back waters. It is the cheapest mode for certain kind of traffic provided the points of origin and destination are located on water bank. River and canal transport played an important role in the transport system of the country during early years but with the development of rail and road transport, this channel suffered the set back.

In Assam, West Bengal and Bihar this channel of transport is important. Half of the total traffic between Assam and Kolkata are shared by river transport and the remaining half is shared by road and rail transport. Water transport is important in Kerala where rivers and backwaters are used for ferrying goods and people. It has some importance in Orissa, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. In 1986, Inland Waterways Authority of India was set up.

2. Coastal Transport:

India has wide coast line of nearly 4200 miles. Transport facilities available along the vast coast line of the country through ships is called coastal shipping. The shipping policy committee recommended that Indian ships should secure 100% of her coastal trade. It is the cheapest mode of transport. There has been sharp decline in coastal shipping operation. In 1961, there was 97 ships and in 1980 the number came down to 56.

3. Oceanic Transport:

Generally speaking, Oceanic Transport means the movement of ships between the countries through sea routes. India’s international trade is carried on by oceanic transport. On the eve of independence, there were only 42 ships with less than 10 lakhs gross registered tonnage (GRT).

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Govt. appointed a shipping policy committee in 1947. The committee recommended that India should secure 100% of her coastal trade and 50% of her overseas trade. Due to this policy shipping tonnage had increased. Port Trust of India (PTI) managed 11 major and 139 minor ports in India. In 1961, Shipping Corporation of India came into existence with the merger of Eastern shipping corporation and Western Shipping Corporation.

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In Pictures

Basavaraj, a water tanker driver, fills his truck with water from a borewell, before delivering it to customers in Bengaluru, India, April 22, 2024. REUTERS/Navesh Chitrakar

The water tanker drivers who keep 'India's Silicon Valley' Bengaluru going

By Photography by

Filed May 14, 2024, 10 a.m. GMT

Photography and reporting by Navesh Chitrakar

Filed May 14, 2024, 10:00 a.m. GMT

Basavaraj, a water tanker driver in India's tech hub Bengaluru, has to leave home by 6:30 a.m. each day to collect enough water for his customers, who now depend on his services for a very basic need.

Residents of the southern city of 14 million people, capital of Karnataka state and often called “India's Silicon Valley“, have been reeling due to water shortages amid unusually hot weather.

The 22-year-old fills up his tanker at a man-made pool fed by four boreholes in the north of the city, then does rounds of four or five buildings whose residents are his regular customers.

The pool's owner Nandish says he can supply fewer tankers now. “Around 40 tankers used to come here every day earlier but now only about 15-20 come as water from the bore wells has also reduced,“ he said.

Once dotted by lakes and forest cover, Bengaluru has lost 79% of its bodies of water and 88% of its green cover over 40 years, while areas covered by concrete have increased 11-fold, according to the Indian Institute of Science.

With summer yet to reach its peak, water tanker dealers began charging some residents almost double the amount per tanker, forcing the state government to cap prices at 1,200 rupees ($14) per unit - triggering a brief strike by some water tank providers.

Daisy, 60, lives close to Basavaraj and next to a privately owned borehole supplying water locally for free. The water is purified for drinking, and the waste water is drained out, but even that liquid is in demand now. “We had to fight with the owner of the borewell to give us waste water,“ says Daisy. “We use it to wash dishes and clothes.”

“We had to fight with the owner of the borewell to give us waste water,“ says Daisy. “We use it to wash dishes and clothes.”

Photography and reporting: Navesh Chitrakar Text editing: Sudipto Ganguly and Hugh Lawson

Photo editing: Maye-E Wong and Eve Watling

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Essay on Transport in 500 Words

• Updated on  
• Jan 2, 2024

Essay on Transport: There are four transport modes: air, water, land and rail. Railways and roads are the most commonly used modes of transport. The Grand Trunk Road or the GT Road is one of the world’s oldest roads and the largest in Asia. Since the domestication of animals in the Mesolithic period, humans started to work on different types of transport mechanisms. Developments in transport systems have come a long way. Today, aeroplanes and jets are the fastest modes of transport. Humans have built jets. Some of the fastest planes and jets are the USAF X-15, SR-71 Blackbird, and MIG-25 Foxbat. 

Also Read: Speech on Make Public Transport Free

Also Read: Essay on Media

History of Transport

The earliest modes of transportation were walking and animal riding. The invention of the wheel by the Sumerian people in Mesopotamia changed the entire game. It allows the transportation of heavier loads with ease. Intercontinental roads like the Silk Route and the Grand Trunk Roads were constructed. 

Major changes in transportation occurred in the 18th and 19th centuries when railways were introduced. The invention of the Steam Engine by James Watt was a major turning point in the history of transportation. After this invention, railway lines were set up for the first time in 1825 from Stockton and Darlington in England. Today, after almost 200 years since the invention, steam trains have evolved into hypersonic bullet trains. 

Another invention in the field of transportation was of aeroplane. Aeroplanes were invented by the Wright brothers in 1903, when the first flight took off from North Carolina, USA. Aeroplanes are the fastest mode of transportation, allowing us to travel overseas within just a couple of hours.

Different Modes of Transport

The different modes of transportation are road, rail, sea and air. Roadways account for 87% of passenger traffic and 67% of freight traffic movement. On the other hand, railways are cheaper means of transportation for both humans and goods. 

Air and Sea transports are used to travel to distant places or different countries. Travelling by sea is environmentally friendly as other means of transport use fuels like petrol and diesel, which release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

In recent years, governments have focused on building electric and sustainable modes of transportation, such as electric cars, bicycles, and public transit. This shift is driven by concerns about environmental sustainability and the impact of traditional transportation on climate change.

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Latest Developments in Transportation

Bullet trains, drones, submarines and space rockets are among the latest developments in transportation. Recently, amazon , an e-commerce company, has started delivering via drones. Companies like Tesla, SpaceX, Boeing, etc. are building futuristic cars and spacecraft, which will cover thousands of miles in an hour. 

High-speed rail projects, Urban Air Mobility, Electric and hybrid aircraft, bicycles, electric scooters, and other micro-mobility solutions were gaining popularity all over the world.

Ans: Transport refers to the movement of humans and goods through different means. There are different modes of transport, such as roads, railways, air and sea. Early humans used to walk to travel to different places. Later on, with the domestication of animals, people started to ride large animals like horses and elephants. Modern transportation is the result of inventions like wheels, steam engines and aeroplanes. Roadways and railways are the most popular and commonly used means of transport. Air and Sea transports are used to travel to distant places or different countries. Travelling by sea is environmentally friendly as other means of transport use fuels like petrol and diesel, which release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

Ans: Road, rail, air and sea are the different modes of transport.

Ans: The oldest mode of transport includes walking, running, swimming and animal riding

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Shiva Tyagi

With an experience of over a year, I've developed a passion for writing blogs on wide range of topics. I am mostly inspired from topics related to social and environmental fields, where you come up with a positive outcome.

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Transport System in India (Railways, Roads, Waterways and Airways) essay

Transport system in india (railways, roads, waterways, and airways), transport system in india.

The most important means of transportation in a country are roads, railways, airways, and waterways. India has completely revolutionized its transportation system, both external and internal.

Rail Transport

Railways are the most important means of transportation in India. The improvement in railway communications in recent times has played a most important part in the internal development of the country. They have brought the different parts of the country closer.

The advent of the railway has been of special advantage to the peasantry. Social and political influences from railway construction have been no less.

Advantages of Railways

• Travelling has become cheaper;
• Defense of the country is less difficult.
• Greater peace and order is maintained in the country, and
• The spirit of nationalism has very greatly developed.

Road Transport

India has a vast network of roads, both metalled and unmetalled. However, this means of transport and communication are still inadequate for our needs. The vehicles that are mainly used on village roads are motorbuses, trucks, and bullock carts.

Before the advent of railways, roads were the only means of communication for the exportation of surplus produce. With the extension of the railway system, it has become more and more necessary to construct roads to feed the railways.

At present, the economic loss caused by the inaccessibility of many agricultural districts in the rainy season is very great. In sandy, hilly, and forest-covered tracts and in other parts of the country, where railways have not penetrated, road transport still holds an important share of long-distance traffic.

The opening of railways has created a demand for road-construction, which must be met by the local and provincial bodies. The question of developing the roads is also of vital importance. We cannot expect any significant progress in our rural economy unless there are good road connections between villages and towns.

Water transport is the oldest and cheapest form of transport. It is one of the most important external and internal means of transport in all the civilized countries of the world. It is useful for the carriage of bulky and heavy goods.

In India, we have many great river systems. However, they are unevenly distributed, some of them are fully utilized for irrigation purposes, and some others are naturally unfit for navigation.

In some parts of India, however, waterways are still extensively used for navigation purposes.

In India, more navigable rivers and canals should be made. And, a systematic policy for the development of the inland water transport should be pursued.

The question of shipping has also great importance in a country like India with a large coastline.

Air Transport System

Proper attention must also be given at the same time to air transport as another means of national and international communication. India possesses some natural advantages in this respect and they have to be fully exploited for development of airways.

The Government is taking a keen interest in the expansion of civil aviation not only for its importance as a means of transport but also because of its strategic value in the matter of national defense. There are also a large number of aerodromes in the country.

An analytic study of the above facts justifies the conclusion that the transport system of India is making good progress. The Government is providing all reasonable facilities for the development of the country’s transport. It is for the people to take advantage of the facilities offered and to step up the country’s progress in the way we desire. Millions of tons of raw materials and finished goods have to be transported over long distances and in the absence of transport facilities there will be bottlenecks in the transport of goods leading to undesirable consequences.

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The water tanker drivers who keep 'India's Silicon Valley' Bengaluru going

B ENGALURU (Reuters) - Basavaraj, a water tanker driver in India's tech hub Bengaluru, has to leave home by 6:30 a.m. each day to collect enough water for his customers, who now depend on his services for a very basic need.

Residents of the southern city of 14 million people, capital of Karnataka state and often called "India's Silicon Valley", have been reeling due to water shortages amid unusually hot weather.

Photo essay:

The 22-year-old fills up his tanker at a man-made pool fed by four boreholes in the north of the city, then does rounds of four or five buildings whose residents are his regular customers.

The pool's owner Nandish says he can supply fewer tankers now.

"Around 40 tankers used to come here every day earlier but now only about 15-20 come as water from the bore wells has also reduced," he said.

Once dotted by lakes and forest cover, Bengaluru has lost 79% of its bodies of water and 88% of its green cover over 40 years, while areas covered by concrete have increased 11-fold, according to the Indian Institute of Science.

With summer yet to reach its peak, water tanker dealers began charging some residents almost double the amount per tanker, forcing the state government to cap prices at 1,200 rupees ($14) per unit - triggering a brief strike by some water tank providers.

Daisy, 60, lives close to Basavaraj and next to a privately owned borehole supplying water locally for free. The water is purified for drinking, and the waste water is drained out, but even that liquid is in demand now.

"We had to fight with the owner of the borewell to give us waste water," Daisy said. "We use it to wash dishes and clothes."

($1 = 83.5300 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Navesh Chitrakar; Editing by Sudipto Ganguly and Hugh Lawson)