India
is the largest peninsula in the world with a
coastline of about 6000kms with 12 major ports and
163 minor / intermediate ports. Nature has given us
a more impressive, nearly 14500 kms of navigable and
potentially navigable inland waterways - which
include a network of rivers, lakes and canals.
The Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI), an
apex body for development and regulation of inland
waterways for shipping and navigation has identified
ten waterways fro initial consideration fro
development out of which three have declared as
National Waterways which are:
National
Waterway No 1 (NW-1) - The Ganga (North India)
The Ganga-Bhagirathi-Hooghly River System connecting
Haldia-Kolkatta (Calcutta) - Farakka - Munger -
Patna - Varanasi - Allahabad
The NW-1 stretches to more than 1620 Kms of
potentially navigable waterways. River conservancy
works, dredging, day channel marking and bandalling
are carried out on a year-to-year basis. Provisions
for 1.5 - 2m depth channels, night navigational
facilities are in the process of implementation.
National Waterway No 2
(NW-II) - The Brahamaputra (North-East India)
The river Brahmaputra connecting Dhubri-Pandu (Guwahati)-Tezpur-Neamati-Dibrugarh-Sadiya
stretching to about 891 Kms was declared a National
Waterway in the year 1988. River conservancy works,
dredging, day channel marking and bandalling are
carried out on a year-to-year basis. Provisions for
2-meter depth channels, night navigational
facilities are under consideration. An inland Water
Transport transit and trade protocol exists between
India and Bangladesh. The NW-2 connects the North
East region with Calcutta and Haldia ports through
Bangladesh and Sunderbans waterways.
National Waterway No 3
(NW-III) - The West Coast Canal (South West India)
The West Coast Canal located in Gods Own Country -
Kerala runs from Kollam to Kottapuram and was
declared a National Waterway in 1993.The dredging of
this canal has been finished. The NW-3 is one of the
most navigable and tourism potential area in India
and has much to offer to the potential tourist.
