Assignment 8 Class X Geography

Chapter 14 TRANSPORTATION

Note: The Study Material consists of 3 parts - ○ Part I - The important highlights of the chapter. ○ Part II - The activity based on the chapter. ○ Part III - The questions based on the study material that you need to answer in your respective notebook and submit when you are back to the school.

PART - I HIGHLIGHTS OF THE CHAPTER

Syllabus and its Focus

Importance and Modes - Roadways, Railways, Airways and Waterways-Advantages and Disadvantages.

We use different goods and services in our daily life. Some of these are available in our immediate surrounding but most of them are not available in our immediate environment. Have you ever thought how these goods reach us? These goods reach us through means of transport.

IMPORTANCE OF MEANS OF TRANSPORT AND COMMUNICATION

Transport or transportation is the movement of people and goods from one location to another.

Roadways, railways, pipelines, airways and waterways are major means of transport. At present it is the time of information and technology. The world is developing very fast and means of transportation play a very vital role in the development of the world.

(i) These help to transfer goods from one country to other or from one part of the state to other. (ii) Means of transportation help the traders to have links with other traders and with the market. (iii) Means of transportation carry people from one place to another. Even they carry skilled and unskilled workers from one place to another and maintain the balance of demand and supply in the economy.

(iv) These play a very vital role in the defence of a country. Whose play ay v) It is the means of transportation and communication which have shortened the distances between various places.

(vi) They provide employment to the skilled as well as unskilled workers.

(vii) They promote industrialisation as industry gets its raw material and transfer goods to the market through means of transport.

ROADWAYS

India has one of the largest networks in the world, aggregating to about 33 lakh kilometers. Though in roads are being constructed at a very fast pace but still the density of roads is very low. "The length of roads per 100 sq. km of area is known as the density of roads. Density of road is lowest in Jammu and KashMIR 10 km whereas it is To Test in , i.e., 375 km."

Most of the northern states like Punjab, , , etc. have high density of roads due to - ● The availability of vast level land which reduces the cost of construction. ● The region has a high density of population and rich agricultural resources. ● Large scale urbanisation has led to high passenger and freight traffic.

Union Territory Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh and States of , , . have low density of road due to - ● Rugged topography ● Lack of mineral and agricultural resources. ● Low density of population.

Advantages of Roads

(i) Roads require less investment compared to railway. (ii) These can be built at higher altitudes and at any place. (iii) Road transportation is easy and is within the reach of the common man. Moreover, it is available for 24 hours. (iv) Maintenance cost is also low. (v) Extension of agriculture is possible only through road transportation. (vi) The road transportation has the merit of offering personal service too. (vii) The road system facilitates the transportation of perishable goods (milk, vegetables, etc.) across different areas and thereby stimulates their production.

Disadvantages of Roads

(i) The road network is inadequate in India as compared to demand and volume of traffic. (ii) The condition of most of the roads is very poor, these become muddy during the rainy season. (iii) They are highly congested in cities. (iv) Most of the highways lack side amenities like telephone booths, emergency health services, police stations, etc.

Types of

Following are the major types of roads in India :

1. Super Highways :

The Super Highways have been planned to meet the requirement of a fast movement of traffic. The government has launched a major road development project linking --- and Delhi by six-lane Super Highways. The North-South corridors linking Srinagar (Jammu and Kashmir) and Kanyakumari (), and East-West Corridor connecting Silchar () and Porbandar () are part of this project. The major objective of these Super Highways is to reduce the time and distance between the mega cities of India. These highway projects are being implemented by the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI).

2. National Highways : The main roads which are constructed and maintained by the Central Public Works Department (C.P.W.D.) are known as National Highways. These roads connect the state capitals, big cities and important ports. The National Highways maintain the availability of essential products. The state to state trade is possible because of National highways. All the essential products like raw material, finished products, vegetables, food grains, etc. are transported through these roads.

3. State Highways : These are constructed and maintained by the state governments (State Public Works Department) and join the state capitals with district headquarters and other important towns. The total length of state roadways in around 4 lakh kilometers approximately. These also contribute in the development of states.

4. District Roads : These roads link the district centres with the major roads. Their total length is nearly 6 lakh kilometres. These roads are maintained by Zila Parishads.

5. Village Roads : These connect the villages with the neighbouring towns and cities. These play very vital role in the development of villages. These help the farmers to take their products to cities and district headquarters.

6. Border Roads : The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) was established in 1960 for the development of the roads of strategic importance in the northern and north-eastern border areas. These roads have increased accessibility in areas of difficult terrain and have helped in the economic development of those area.

Other Roads : Rural roads, which link rural areas and villages with towns are classified under this category. These roads received special impetus under the "Pradhan Mantri Grameen Sadak Yojana". Under this scheme special provisions are made so that every village in the country is linked to the major town in the country by motorable road in all seasons.

RAILWAYS

Railways are the principal mode of transportation for freight and passengers in India. Railways also make it possible to conduct multifarious activities like business, sightseeing, along with transportation of goods over longer distances. Apart from an important means of transport the have been a great integrating force for more than 150 years. Railways in India bound the economic life of the country as well as accelerated the development of the industry and agriculture. Indian Railways have grown into a vast network of 7,349 stations spread 67,312 km with a fleet of 11,452 over a route length of , 70,937 passenger service vehicles, 6,560 other coaching vehicles and 2.77.987 wagons as on March 2017.

The Indian Railway is the largest public sector undertaking in the country. The first train steamed off from Mumbai to , covering a distance of 34 km in 1853.

Distribution of Railway

The distribution pattern of the Railway network in the country has been largely influenced by physiographic, economic and administrative Cretors. The northern plains have high density of railway due to vast Jovial And high population density and rich agricultural resources.

However, some states like , Himachal Pradesh have low density of railway due to - ● Large number of rivers requiring construction of bridges across their wide beds posed some obstacles. ● Rugged topography Sandy soil of Rajasthan. ● In the hilly terrains of the peninsular region, railway tracts are laid through low hills or gaps or tunnels. The Himalayan mountainous regions like Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Assam, and other north eastern parts of India too are unfavourable for the construction of railway lines due to high relief, less density of population and lack of economic opportunities. ● It is also difficult to lay railway line on the sandy plain of western Rajasthan, swamps of Gujarat, forested tracks of , , and . The contiguous stretch of Sahyadri could be crossed only through gaps or passes (Ghats). In recent times, the development of the Konkan railway along the west coast has facilitated the movement of passengers and goods in this most important economic region of India. It also has faced a number of problems such as sinking of track in some stretches and land slides.

Advantages of Railway

● It facilitates long distance travel and transport of bulky goods which are not easily transported through motor vehicles. ● It is a quick and more regular form of transport because it helps in the transportation of goods with It helps in the industrialisation process of a country by easy transportation of coal and raw materials speed and certainty at a cheaper rate. ● It helps in the quick movement of goods from one place to another at the time of emergencies like It encourages mobility of labour and thereby provides a great scope for employment. ● Railway is the safest form of transport. The chances of accidents and breakdown of railways are minimum as compared to other modes of transport. Moreover, the traffic can be protected from the exposure to sun, rain, snow, etc. ● The carrying capacity of the railways is extremely large. Moreover, its capacity is elastic which can easily be increased by adding more wagons. ● It is the largest public undertaking in the country. ● Railways charges are based on charge what the traffic can bear which helps the poor. In fact, it is a national necessity

Disadvantages of Railway:

● The railway requires a large investment of capital. The cost of construction, maintenance and overhead expenses are very high as compared to other modes of transport. Moreover, the investments are specific and immobile. In case, the traffic is not sufficient, the investments may mean wastage of huge resources. ● Another disadvantages of railway transport is its inflexibility. Its routes and timings cannot be adjusted to individual requirements. ● Rail transport cannot provide door to door service as it is tied to a particular track. Intermediate loading or unloading involves greater cost, more wear and tear and wastage of time. ● The time cost of terminal operations are a great disadvantage of rail transport. ● Railway transport is unsuitable and uneconomical for short distances and small traffic of goods. It involves much time and labour in booking and taking delivery of goods through railways as compared to motor transport. ● Because of huge capital requirements and traffic, railways cannot be operated economically in rural areas.

WATERWAYS

Waterways are the cheapest and oldest means of transport

Importance of Waterways

1. It is the most suitable for carrying heavy and bulky goods. 2 It is a fuel-efficient and environment-friendly . 3. The element of wear and tear is very less. 4. More than 95% of the country's trade volume is moved by the sea. 5. With the development of National Waterways it has become the main source of transportation for the natural trade.

Inland Waterways

The government has declared the following waterways as National Waterways :

1. The Ganga river, between Prayagraj and (1620 km) 2. The , between Sadya and (891 km) 3. The West-coast , between and Kottayam in Kerala (168 km). The Champakara canal (14 km), and the Udyogamandal canal in Kerala (22 km).

The Godavari, Krishna, Break , Buckingham canal, Brahmani, East-west canal and Damodar Valley Corporation canal are other viable inland waterways.

Waterways have remained underdeveloped in Southern India : ● Rivers of southern India are non-perennial. ● They flow swiftly over the plateaus and highlands.

SEA PORTS

Major Sea Ports (West Coast):

The long coastline of about 7,516.6 km India is dotted with 12 major and 200 medium and minor ports. Following are the major ports of India:

1. : It is in Kutch district of Gujarat. This was the first port developed soon after Independence to ease the volume of trade on the Mumbai port, in the wake of loss of port to Pakistan after the partition. Kandla is a tidal port. It caters to the convenient handling of exports and imports of highly productive granary and industrial belt stretching across the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh and States of Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Gujarat.

2. Mumbai: It is the It is the biggest port with a spacious alura and well sheltered harbour. ​

3. The at Nehru Sheva was planned with a view to decongesting Mumbai port and serve as a hub port for this region.

4. port (): It is the iron ore exporting port of the country. This port accounts for about fifty per cent of India's iron ore export.

5. New Mangalore : The port is located in Karnataka. It caters to the export of iron ore concentrates from Kudremukh mines.

6. : It is the extreme south-western port, located at the entrance of a lagoon with a ​ natural harbour. Ports of East Coast :

7. Tuticorin : The port is in Tamil Nadu. This port has a natural harbour and rich hinterland. Thus, it has a flourishing trade handling of a large variety of cargoes to even our neighbouring countries like Sri Lanka Maldives, etc., and the coastal regions of India.

8. Chennai : It is one of the oldest artificial ports of the country. It 1s ranked next to Mumbai in terms of the volume of trade and .

9. : It is the deepest landlocked and well protected port. This port was ​ originally conceived

10. Paradip : The port is located in Odisha and specialises in the export of iron ore. ​

11. Kolkata : It is an inland riverine port. This port serves a very large and rich hinterland of Ganga-Brahmaputra basin. It is a tidal port so it requires constant dredging of Hugli.

12. Haldia (Bengal) : Haldia port has recently been developed on the confluence of rivers Hugli and Haldi about more than 100 km downstream from Kolkata. Its main purpose is to release congestion at Kolkata. It receives larger vessels which otherwise would have to go to Kolkata.

Importance of Ports:

● 1.95% of the country's trade volume is moved by sea. ● They are the main source of importing and exporting bulky raw material and finished goods. They promote international trade. ● They help in overcoming congestion of the mainland-corridors. ● Ports provide employment to skilled and unskilled workers. ● Waterways is a fuel-efficient and environmentally friendly mode of transport. Water transport is the process of moving people, goods, etc., by barge, boat, ship or sailboat over a sea, ocean, lake, canal, river, etc.

Advantages of Water Transport System

● It is the cheapest means of transport. ● The cost of developing a waterway is negligible (Capital is required to build port) of the cost developing an equivalent railway or a four-lane expressway. ● The maintenance cost of an waterway is also negligible. The water transport needs less fuel as compared They are most suitable for carrying heavy and to road or railways. bulky goods. eco-friendly mode of transport. trade is carried through waterways.

Disadvantages of Water Transport System

Though inland water transport system has played a very important role, however, in recent times the importance of this mode of transport has declined considerably with expansion of road and rail transport. In addition, diversion of river water for irrigation has also reduced the importance of inland water transport. The decline is also due to deforestation of hill ranges leading to erosion, accumulation of silt in rivers and failure to modernize the fleet to suit local conditions.

Water transport as a whole is much slower than its road, rail or air competitors.

● It provides access to limited areas. Out of the total inland water body available in the world only very low per cent of it is potentially navigable. ● It needs perennial source of water. Most of the South Indian rivers are non perennial. ● Due to this inland water transport is not very popular means of transport.

AIRWAYS

Airways is the fastest mode of transport. Though it is still the costliest mode of transport, yet with the entry of private companies there is every possibility that in near future it will become a cheap and main source of transportation.

Advantages of Airways

The following are some of the advantages of air transport :

● Air transport is the fastest mode of transport and therefore suitable carriage of goods over a long distance requiring less time. ● Air transport provides comfortable, efficient and quick transport service.

● It is regarded as best mode of transport for transporting perishable goods. ● Air transport is regarded as the only means of transport in those areas which are not easily accessible to other modes of transport. For example in north eastern parts of India other means of transport are not fully developed due to topography. It is therefore accessible to all areas regardless the obstruction of land, sea, mountains, etc.

Disadvantages of Airways

In Spite of many advantages air transport has a number of disadvantages. These disadvantages are:

● Air transport is regarded as the costliest mode of transport. ● Air transport is the most risky form of transport because a minor accident may put a substantial loss to the goods, passengers and the crew. ● The aircrafts have small carrying capacity and therefore these are not suitable for carrying bulky and cheaper goods. ● Air transport requires huge investment for construction and maintenance of aerodromes.

New Airway Policy The Government has ended the monopoly of and . Government has adopted Open Sky' policy. With the liberalisation of the Indian skies consumers are getting cheap and better services. The main objectives of the aviation sector as set out in the Eleventh Five Year Plan would be to provide world class infrastructure facilities, safe, reliable and affordable air services so as to encourage growth in passenger and cargo traffic, and air connectivity to remote and inaccessible parts of the country. Apart from developing major and greenfield airports, the modernisation of Air Traffic Management is also envisaged.

PART - II ACTIVITY

Make a comparative study of all the three modes of transport.

PART - III QUESTIONS

Answer the following questions :

1. Roads have an edge over railways. Give two reasons. 2. What is the Golden Quadrilateral ? Mention any two ways in which it will help in the economic development of the country.

3. Why do northern plains have high density of railway while regions like Jammu and Kashmir and Assam have less density of railway ? 4. In which region of India, are inland waterways widely used ? 5. Mention the National Waterways of India. 6. What is Open Sky policy ? 7. Why has the importance of inland waterways declined ? Give any two reasons. 8. Give two reasons why peninsular rivers are not ideal for navigation 9. Why is road transport in India considered more useful than rail transport ? State two reasons in support of your answer. 10. Name two areas where helicopter services may be used .