RAS question
India's National Waterway 1 (NW-1) runs along:
Correct answer: (B) Ganges River from Allahabad (Prayagraj) to Haldia.
India's National Waterway 1 runs on the Ganga-Bhagirathi-Hooghly river system between Allahabad (Prayagraj) and Haldia.
Explanation
National Waterway 1 is the Allahabad (Prayagraj)-Haldia stretch of the Ganga-Bhagirathi-Hooghly river system, with a length of 1,620 km. That is why the option naming the Ganges River from Allahabad to Haldia matches NW-1. The route is treated as India's longest and most important national waterway, and IWAI material identifies the Haldia-Allahabad stretch under National Waterway 1. Its navigability is being strengthened through the Jal Marg Vikas Project, supported by the World Bank, so that larger vessels can use this inland-water transport corridor. The broader statutory context is the National Waterways Act, 2016, under which India has 111 designated national waterways, though many are not yet fully operational.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) Buckingham Canal does not identify NW-1; in these options it is linked with NW-4, so it points to a different national waterway.
- (C) The West Coast Canal in Kerala is associated with NW-3, not with the Ganga-Bhagirathi-Hooghly route of NW-1.
- (D) The Sadiya-Dhubri stretch of the Brahmaputra is NW-2, whereas NW-1 is the Allahabad-Haldia Ganga-Bhagirathi-Hooghly stretch.
Concept
This tests the Indian geography theme of inland waterways, especially matching national waterway numbers with their river systems and terminal stretches. It recurs in RAS because transport geography links physical river systems with infrastructure and economic development schemes.