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India has a total coastline of 7,551 km with 13 major ports trusts, approximately 200 minor ports
controlled by the government and the private sector. The country has an extensive network of inland
waterways in the form of rivers, canals, backwaters and creeks. The total navigable length is 14,500 km,
of which about 5,200 km of river and 4,000 km of canals can be used by mechanised crafts. Only 455 km
has been declared National Waterways by the government, hence the remaining has to be developed
and maintained by respective state governments.
Historically, industrial hubs have developed around riverine transport possibilities, since road and rail
networks were not developed. In India, inland water transport (IWT) on the Ganges provided among the
earliest organised transport movements over significant distances.
National
Waterway 2
National
Waterway 3
National
Waterway 4
National
Waterway 5
National
Waterway 6
Water transport is the most cost-effective and fuel-efficient mode of transport. According to estimates,
one litre of fuel can move 24 tonne km of freight by road, 85 by rail and 105 by IWT. Also, government
figures establish the fact that a shift of one billion tonne km of freight to IWT will bring down the fuel
cost by about INR 250 million and the cost of transportation by about INR 450 million.
Like any other mode of transport, the economics and operation of water transport is dependent on the
availability of channels, facilities at the end of the travel (like jetties and ports) and the carriers or
vessels (barges), together with all the managerial and supporting infrastructural systems required to
manage the flows.
Despite being eco-friendly and less
expensive,
freight
transportation
by
0.36
7 4
34.4
54.4
Cargo
transportation
in
Rail
Coastal
Pipeline
IWT
an
Source: IWAI
number of thermal power plants on the river front of the Ganges and the Brahmaputra river systems,
coal is considered to be most potential cargo.
The sulphur content in Indian coal is higher and hence, there has been heavy demand for imported coal
with lower percentage of sulphur from Australia and Indonesia. This is transported from the ports like
Paradip, Haldia and Vizag either by road or rail. Since both rail and road transport in this sector is already
congested, the need for inland waterways has been seriously felt.
The shipping ministry has taken an active role to promote waterways as the best passage for coal.
Recently it flagged off bulk movement of coal through national waterways by Jindal ITF to move 3
million tonne coal from the Sandheads to NTPC's Farakka thermal plant. The ministry also created inland
waterways infrastructure on National Waterway 1 to help the industrial corridor on the banks of the
river, as 10 thermal power stations are operational in the proximity of NW-1 and another 11 were
expected to come up in the next 5-8 years with total installed capacity of 15,000 MW. Inland waterways
would help save 15 percent of transport cost and is environmentally friendly too.
Various schemes are being introduced by the government to increase the share of coastal shipping to 15
percent of the total cargo transportation of the country by 2015. IWT sectors share could also go upto 3
percent of the total transport of the country in near future with systematic and sustained development
of the waterway systems. The increase could translate into reality through an optimum inter-modal mix
of various transport mediums.