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Context:

• Union Minister of Ports, Shipping & Waterways and Ayush announced major initiatives planned for Assam by the Ministry of Ports, Shipping & Waterways this year for the development of inland waterways in Guwahati.

Details:

• Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi will inaugurate Maritime Skill Centre for Northeast to ramp up capacity in Pandu port in Guwahati in January 2023.
• The other initiatives are the Ship Repair Facility at Pandu Multi Modal terminal and an elevated road connecting with the Multi Modal Terminal at Pandu with National Highway 27 in Guwahati. The facilities are part of major initiatives planned by the Ministry of Ports, Shipping & Waterways for revamping inland waterways in Assam & the Northeast.

About National Waterways:

• India has a vast network of inland waterways that include river bodies, canals, backwaters and creeks.
• However, these inland waterways have been unutilised, as compared to other countries in the world.
• The National Waterways Actproposed 106 additional national waterways to the five national waterways declared earlier.
• The Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI)is responsible for the timely execution of national waterways projects and to ensure improved water transportation in India.
• Under the National Waterways Act, 2016, 111 inland waterways (including five national waterways in India declared earlier) have been declared as ‘national waterways’.

 

The longest national waterway is the National Waterway 1 or the Ganga-Bhagirathi-Hooghly river system, running from Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh to Haldia in West Bengal and covers a length of 1,620 kilometres. The first national waterways in India or the National Waterway 1 is the Ganga-Bhagirathi – Hooghly River System from Haldia to Allahabad. The Manimutharu River in Tamil Nadu or the National Waterway 69 is the shortest national waterway in India.

Operational national waterways of India:

Out of the 111 national waterways, there are 13 national waterways that are operational for shipping and navigation. These are:

1. National Waterway 1: Ganga-Bhagirathi – Hooghly River System (Haldia – Allahabad)
2. National Waterway 2: Brahmaputra River (Dhubri – Sadiya)
3. National Waterway 3: West Coast Canal (Kottapuram – Kollam), Champakara and Udyogmandal Canals
4. National Waterway 4: Phase – 1 development of the stretch Muktiyala to Vijayawada of river Krishna
5. National Waterway 10: Amba River
6. National Waterway 83: Rajpuri Creek
7. National Waterway 85: Revadanda Creek – Kundalika River System
8. National Waterway 91: Shastri river – Jaigad creek system
9. National Waterway 68: Mandovi – Usgaon Bridge to the Arabian Sea spanning 41 kilometres
10. National Waterway 111: Zuari – Sanvordem Bridge to Marmugao Port spanning 50 kilometres
11. National Waterway 73: Narmada river
12. National Waterway 100: Tapi river
13. National Waterway 97 :or Sunderbans Waterways: Namkhana to AtharaBankiKhal in West Bengal.

About Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI):

• The Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) is responsible for the development and regulation of inland waterways for shipping and navigation.
• Launched in October 1986, the Noida-headquartered Authorityhas regional offices across different cities.
• It mainly undertakes projects for developing and maintaining the Inland Water Transport (IWT) infrastructure on national waterways through grants from the Shipping Ministry.

https://pib.gov.in/PressReleaseIframePage.aspx?PRID=1889819