RAS question
The National Waterway 1 is on:
Correct answer: (C) Ganga-Bhagirathi-Hooghly river system (Prayagraj to Haldia).
National Waterway 1 is on the Ganga-Bhagirathi-Hooghly river system, running between Prayagraj and Haldia.
Explanation
National Waterway 1, or NW-1, is the Ganga-Bhagirathi-Hooghly river system stretch between Prayagraj and Haldia. The Inland Waterways Authority of India identifies this route as a 1,620 km national waterway, matching the standard RAS fact line that NW-1 follows the Ganga corridor from Prayagraj to Haldia. This is why option C is precise: it names both the correct river system and the terminal stretch. The other major waterways often tested with it are separate: NW-2 is on the Brahmaputra from Dhubri to Sadiya, and NW-3 is on the West Coast Canal in Kerala. India has 111 designated National Waterways, so the exam checks whether candidates can map the number to the correct river system rather than just recall a river name.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) Brahmaputra is associated with National Waterway 2, not National Waterway 1.
- (B) Krishna is a different river system and is not the Prayagraj-Haldia NW-1 stretch.
- (D) Godavari is also a different river system and does not match the Ganga-Bhagirathi-Hooghly route of NW-1.
Concept
This tests the Indian transport geography concept of national waterways and their river-system mapping. It recurs in RAS because inland waterways link physical geography with infrastructure, navigation and economic geography.