Chapter 10

TRANSPORT AND COMMUNICATION

FACTS THAT MATTER

• We use many items in our daily life. it is different means of transportation that brings them from their production sites to the consumers different methods which men use to transfer goods, things, services ,ideas and himself from one place to another place called means of transportation and communication.

• means of transportation

#Land transport

Roads, railway ,pipelines ,road transports

#water transport

Inland waterways seaways and oceans

#Air transport

National and international

Land Transport

With the economic and technological development, metalled roads and railways were developed to move large volume of goods and people from one place to another.

Road Transport

•India has one of the largest load networks in the world with a total length of 54.8 lakh km (2016-17). About 85 per cent of passenger and 70% freight transport take place using road transport.

•Sher Shah Suri built the Shahi (Royal) road to strengthen and consolidate his empire from the Indus Valley to the Sonar Valley in Bengal. This road was renamed the Grand Trunk (GT) Road during the British period, connecting Kolkata and Peshawar.

At present, it extends from Amritsar to Kolkata. It is bifurcated into two segments:

(I)National Highway(NH)-1 from Delhi to Amritsar .

(ii) NH-2 from Delhi to Kolkata.

•For the the purpose of construction and maintenance, roads have been classified into: national highways, state highways, district roads and village roads.

National Highways

•Construction and maintenance of National Highways is the responsibility of central government. These roads are meant for inter-state transport and movement of defence men and material in strategic areas. These also connect the state capitals, major cities, important ports,railway junctions, etc. Thelength ofthe National Highways hasincreased from 19,700 km in 1951 to 100475 km in 2015-16. The National Highways constitute only two per cent of the total road length but carry 40 per cent of the road trafic.

•The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) came into operation in 1995. It is an autonomous body under the Ministry of Surface Transport. It is entrusted with the responsibility of development, maintenance and operation of National Highways. This is also an apex body to improve the quality of roads designated as National Highways.

•Golden Quadrilateral: It comprises construction of 5,846 km long 4/6 lane, high affic corridor, to connect India's four big metro cities of Delhi-Mumbai- Chennai-Kolkata.

•North-South and East-West Corridors: North-South corridor aims at connecting srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir with Kanniyakumari in Tamil Nadu (including Kochi Salem Spur) with 4,076 km long road. The East-West Corridor has been planned to connect Silchar in Assam with the port town of Porbandar in Gujarat with 3,640 km of road length.

•State Highways are constructed and maintained by state governments. They join the state capitals with district headquarters and other important towns. These roads are connected to the National Highways. These constitute 4 per cent of total road length in the country.

•District Roads are the connecting link between District Headquarters and the other important nodes in the district. They account for 14 per cent of the total road length of the country.

•Rural roads are vital for providing links in the rural areas. About 80 per cent of the total road length in India are categorised as rural roads. There is regional variation in the density of rural roads because these are influenced by the nature of the terrain

•Other roads include Border Roads and International Highways. The Border Road Organisation (BRO) was established in May 1960 for accelerating economic development and strengthening defence preparedness through rapid and coordinated improvement of strategically important roads along the northern and north-eastern boundary of the country. BRO constructs roads in high altitude mountainous terrain. Road distribution is not uniform in India. Road density varies from 12.14 km in Jammu and Kashmir to 517,77 km in Kerala.

Rail Transport

•Indian railways network is one of the longest in the world. It facilitates the movement of railway both freight and passengers and contributes to the growth of economy.

Indian Railway was introduced in 1853, when a line was constructed from Bombay to Thane covering a distance of 34 km. Indian Railways is the largest government undertaking in the country. The length of Indian Railways network is 66,030 km as

On 31 March, 2015. Its very large size puts lots of pressure on a centralised railway management system. Thus, in India, the railway system has been divided into sixteen Zones.

•After the Independence of the country, railway routes have been extended to other ureas to0. Railway network is relatively less dense in the hill states, north eastern states, central parts of India and Rajasthan.

•one of the important achievements of Indian RailwayS nas been the construction of konkan Railway in 1998. It is 760 km long rail route connecting Roha in Maharashtra Mangalore in Karnataka. It is considered an engineering marvel. It crosses 146 rivers, streams, nearly 2000 bridges and 91 tunnels. Asias largest tunnel which s nearly 6.5 km long, also lies on this route. The states of Maharashtra, Goa and nataka are partners in this undertaking

•On the basis of width of the track of Indian Railways, three categories have been river Broad Gauge, Metre Gauge and Narrow Gauge.

•Metro rail has revolutionlised the urban transport system in Kolkata and Delhi. replacement of diesel buses by CNG run venicles along with introduction of metro is welcome step towards controlling the air pollution in urban centres.

Water Transport

•Waterways is an important mode of transport for both passenger and cargo transfer India. It is the cheapest means of transport and is most suitable for carrying hen and bulky material. It is a fuel-efficient and eco-friendly mode of transport. The wat transport is of two types:

(I) Inland waterways

(ii) Oceanic waterways.

Ocean Routes

•India has 14500 km. of navigable waterway contributing 1% of transportation. Inland waterway authority develops & maintains them.

•India has a vast coastline of approximate 7,517 km, including islands. Twelve maior and 185 minor ports provide infrastructural support to these routes. Oceanic routes play an important role in the transport sector of India's economy. Approximately 95 per cent of India's foreign trade by volume and 70 per cent by value moves through ocean routes. Apart from international trade, these are also used for the purpose of transportation between the islands and the rest of the country.

Air Transportation

•Air transport is the fastest means of movement from one place to the other. It has reduced distances by minimising the travel time. Air transport in India made a beginning in 1911 when airmail operation commenced over a little distance of 10 km between Allahabad and Naini. But its real development took place in post Independence period.

•The Airport Authority of India is responsible for providing safe, efficient air traffic and aeronautical communication services in the Indian Air Space. The authority manages 125 airports Air India. Now many private companies have also started passenger services.

•To help the Indian exporters and make their export more competitive, the government had introduced an Open Sky Policy for cargo in April 1992. Under this policy, foreign airlines or association of exporters can bring any freighters to the country.

Oil and Gas Pipelines

•Pipelines are the most convenient and efficient mode of transporting liquids and gases over long distances. Even solids can also be transported by pipelines after converting them into slurry. Oil India Limited (OIL) under the administrative set up ot the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas is engaged in the exploration, producuo and transportation of crude oil and natural gas. Asia's first cross country pipeinc from Naharkatiya (Assam) to Barauni (Bihar) was made by them.

Communication Networks

•Human beings have evolved different methods of communication over time. Invention of post-office, telegraph, printing press, telephone, satellite, etc. has made communication much faster and easier. Development in the field of science a technology has significantly contributed in bringing about revolution in the communication. On the basis of scale and quality, the mode of communication ca be divided into following categories:

(a) Personal Communication System

(b) Mass Communication System

•Radio broadcasting started in India in 1923 by the Radio Club of Bombay. Since then, it gained immense popularity and changed the socio- cultural life of people.

•Television broadcasting has emerged as the most effective audio-visual medium for disseminating information and educating masses. Initially, the TV services were limited only to the National Capital where it began in 1959. After 1972, several other centres became operational. In 1976, TV was delinked from All India Radio (AIR) and got a separate identity as Doordarshan (DD).

•Satellites are also a mode of communication in themselves as well as they regulate the use of other means of communication. Satellite images can be used for the weather forecast, monitoring of natural calamities, surveillance of border areas, ete.

•On the basis of configuration and purposes, satellite system in India can be classified into two groups

(i) Indian National Satellite System (INSAT)-Multipurpose for telecom, meteorological services and data observation.

(ii) Indian Remote Sensing Satellite System (IRS)-natural resources.

We hope CBSE/MP Board Class 12th "Geography Part B " Chapter 10 "Transport and Communication" will help you.

Written By - HIMANSHU SHARMA