National Waterways in India

• India has over 14500 km of waters that can be navigated which accounts only for about 1% of the country’s transportation. This includes canal backwaters, rivers and creeks amongst many other types of water bodies.
  • However, these inland waterways have been unutilised, as compared to other countries in the world.
• Around 3700 km of major rivers are navigable by mechanised flat bottom vessels however, at present only 2000 km is actually used. Only 900 km out of the 4800 km of the navigable canal is used by mechanised vessels. Approximately 180 lakh tons of material is transported through these waterways.
• National Waterways Act came into effect in 2016. It proposed 106 additional National Waterways and merges 5 existing Acts which were declared the 5 National Waterways. As a result, 106 new waterways were identified by IWAI and intimated to MoS.
• 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’.
  • Out of the 111, National Waterways declared under the National Waterways Act, 2016, 13 are operational for shipping and navigation and cargo/passenger vessels are moving on them.

National Waterways

• National Waterways 1 or NW1
  • It starts from Allahabad(Prayagraj) to Haldia with a distance of 1620 km.
  • The NW 1 run through the Ganges, Bhagirathi, and Hooghly river system with having fixed terminals at Haldia, Farrakka, and Patna and floating terminals at most of the riverside cities like Kolkata, Bhagalpur, Varanasi, and Allahabad.
  • It is be the longest National Waterways in India.

• National Waterways 2
  • It is a stretch on the Brahmaputra river from Sadiya to Dhubri in Assam state.
  • The NW 2 is one of the major freight transportation waterways of northeast India and the third-longest Waterways with and a total length of 891 km.

• National waterways 3 or the West Coast Canal
  • It is located in Kerala state and runs from Kollam to Kottapuram.
  • The 205 km long West Coast Canal is India’s first waterway with all-time navigation facility.
  • The NW3 is consists of the West Coast Canal, Champakara Canal, and Udyogmandal Canal and runs through Kottappuram, Cherthala, Thrikkunnapuzha Kollam, and Alappuzha.

• National Waterway 4
  • It is connected from Kakinada to Pondicherry through Canals, Tank, and River Godavari along with Krishna river.
  • The NW 4 the second-longest waterway of India with a total length of 1095 km in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.

• National Waterway 5
  • It connects Orissa to West Bengal using the stretch on Brahmani River, East Coast Canal, Matai river, and Mahanadi River Delta.
  • The 623 km long canal system will handle the traffic of cargo such as coal, fertilizer, cement, and iron.

• National waterway 6
  • It is the proposed waterway in Assam state and will connect Lakhipur to Bhanga in river Barak.
  • The 121 km long waterway will help in trading between the town of Silchar to Mizoram State.

Operational National Waterways in India

NW Number	River System	Route	Locations
NW – 1	Ganga-Bhagirathi-Hooghly	Prayagraj – Haldia	Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal
NW – 2	Brahmaputra	Sadiya-Dhubri	Assam
NW – 3	West Coast Canal, Champakara Canal, and Udyogamandal Canal	Kottapuram – Kollam	Kerala
NW – 4	Krishna and Godavari	Kakinada–Puducherry stretch of canals, Kaluvelly Tank, Bhadrachalam – Rajahmundry, Waziraba–Vijayawada	Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Puducherry
NW – 10	Amba River		Maharashtra
NW – 83	Rajpuri Creek		Maharashtra
NW – 85	Revadanda Creek – Kundalika River System		Maharashtra
NW – 91	Shastri river–Jaigad creek system		Maharashtra
NW – 68	Mandovi – Usgaon Bridge to the Arabian Sea		Goa
NW – 111	Zuari– Sanvordem Bridge to Marmugao Port		Goa
NW – 73	Narmada River		Gujarat and Maharashtra
NW – 100	Tapi River		Gujarat and Maharashtra
NW – 97 (Sundarbans Waterways)	Namkhana to AtharaBankiKhal	Indo-Bangladesh Protocol Route	West Bengal

25 National Waterways found feasible for Cargo/Passenger Movement

National Waterway	Details of Waterways	STATES
National Waterway 1	Ganga-Bhagirathi-Hooghly River System (Haldia – Allahabad)	Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand & West Bengal
National Waterway 2	Brahmaputra River (Dhubri – Sadiya)	Assam
National Waterway 16	Barak River	Assam
National Waterway 3	West Coast Canal (Kottapuram – Kollam), Champakara and Udyogmandal Canals	Kerala
National Waterway 4	Krishna River (Vijayawada – Muktyala)	Andhra Pradesh
National Waterway 5	Dhamra-Paradio via Mangalagadi to Pankopal	Odisha
National Waterway 8	Alappuzha- Changanassery Canal	Kerala
National Waterway 9	Alappuzha-Kottayam – Athirampuzha Canal	Kerala Alternate route: 11.5km
National Waterway 27	Cumberjua River	Goa
National Waterway 68	Mandovi River	Goa
National Waterway 86	Rupnarayan River	West Bengal
National Waterway 97	Sunderbans Waterway	West Bengal
National Waterway 111	Zuari River	Goa
National Waterway 10	Amba River	Maharashtra
National Waterway 40	Ghagra River	Bihar
National Waterway 44	Ichamati River	West Bengal
National Waterway 52	Kali River	Karnataka
National Waterway 57	Kopili River	Assam
National Waterway 25	Chapora River	Goa
National Waterway 37	Gandak River	Bihar
National Waterway 28	Dabhol Creek Vasisti River	Maharashtra
National Waterway 73	Narmada River	Maharashtra & Gujarat
National Waterway 85	Revadanda Creek – Kundalika River System	Maharashtra
National Waterway 94	Sone River	Bihar
National Waterway 100	Tapi River	Maharashtra & Gujarat