RAS question
National Waterway-3 (NW-3) is located in which state?
Correct answer: (A) Kerala.
National Waterway-3 is in Kerala, where it covers the Kottapuram-Kollam stretch of the West Coast Canal along with the Champakara and Udyogmandal canals.
Explanation
National Waterway-3 is a Kerala waterway, not a generic coastal route spread across multiple southern states. The PIB note identifies NW-3 as the Kottapuram-Kollam stretch of the West Coast Canal, together with the Champakara and Udyogmandal canals, adding up to 205 km. This matches the standard exam explanation: the waterway runs from Kollam to Kottapuram in Kerala. The source also states that the entire NW-3 in Kerala has navigation aids for 24-hour navigation, which is why the waterway is often remembered in exams with the phrase "first national waterway with 24-hour navigation facility". For the MCQ, the state asked is therefore Kerala.
Why the other options are wrong
- (B) Goa is not the state for NW-3; the given clue about Goa's Mandovi River points to a different waterway, while NW-3 is the West Coast Canal system in Kerala.
- (C) Karnataka is wrong because the cited NW-3 description places the Kottapuram-Kollam West Coast Canal stretch, with the Champakara and Udyogmandal canals, in Kerala.
- (D) Tamil Nadu is wrong because NW-3 is identified in the source and explanation as a Kerala waterway running between Kollam and Kottapuram.
Concept
This tests Indian transport geography, especially the location-based mapping of National Waterways. It recurs in RAS because waterways are a compact way to ask state-location, infrastructure and inland navigation facts together.