Inland Waterways In India

Inland navigation is a fuel-effective, environment-friendly and economical means of transport. India has virtually 14,500 km of traversable watercourses, consisting of rivers, canals, creeks and backwaters, largely from Kerala. From 3,700 km of primary river watercourses, only 2,000 are being employed. Almost 16 million tonnes of goods are ferried through inline watercourses. Presently, a few extents in Ganga, Bhagirathi, Hooghly (West Bengal), Brahmaputra and Barak (Assam), Mandvi in Goa, backwaters of Kerala and deltaic areas of Krishna and Godavari in Andhra are being used. Ganga will be operated in near future, between Farrakka and Patna and then upto Allahabad.