RAS question
National Waterway-1 (NW-1) is on which river?
Correct answer: (D) Ganga (Allahabad to Haldia).
National Waterway-1 is on the Ganga-Bhagirathi-Hooghly river system between Allahabad and Haldia.
Explanation
NW-1 runs on the Ganga route from Allahabad to Haldia, not on a peninsular river or the Brahmaputra. Inland Waterways Authority of India states that the Ganga-Bhagirathi-Hooghly river system between Haldia and Allahabad, covering 1620 km, was declared National Waterway No. 1 in 1986. NW-1 on the Ganga from Allahabad to Haldia is India's longest national waterway. The numbering often causes confusion: NW-2 belongs to the Brahmaputra, while NW-3 is the West Coast Canal in Kerala. The river system for NW-1 is the Ganga system, specifically the Allahabad-Haldia stretch.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) Godavari is not the river system named by IWAI for NW-1, which is the Ganga-Bhagirathi-Hooghly system between Allahabad and Haldia.
- (B) Brahmaputra is associated with NW-2, while NW-1 is on the Ganga-Bhagirathi-Hooghly system between Allahabad and Haldia.
- (C) Krishna is not identified by IWAI as the river for NW-1; the declared NW-1 route is on the Ganga system.
Concept
Indian transport geography includes the mapping of national waterways to river systems and route stretches. RAS often tests inland waterways as a fixed factual area where NW-1, NW-2 and NW-3 are easy to confuse.