Which of the following statements about India's National Waterways are correct? I. National Waterway 2 (NW-2) is the Brahmaputra…

Question

Which of the following statements about India's National Waterways are correct?

I. National Waterway 2 (NW-2) is the Brahmaputra River stretch from Dhubri to Sadiya in Assam, covering about 891 km.

II. National Waterway 3 (NW-3) is the West Coast Canal, which connects Kollam and Kottapuram in Kerala.

III. National Waterway 97 (NW-97) runs on the Zuari River, connecting Sanvordem Bridge to Mormugao Port.

IV. National Waterways 111 (NW-111) is operational in the Sunderbans Region.

1. A. I only
2. B. I and II only (Correct answer)
3. C. I, II and III only
4. D. All of the above

Correct Answer

Option B — B

Detailed Solution & Explanation

The correct answer is Option B.

Key Points

• Statement I is correct: NW-2 is the Brahmaputra, Dhubri to Sadiya in Assam, about 891 km.
• Statement II is correct: NW-3 is the West Coast Canal in Kerala, Kollam to Kottapuram, roughly 205 km — it was India's first waterway with round-the-clock navigation facilities.
• Statement III is incorrect: the Zuari river waterway in Goa is NW-111 — not NW-97.
• Statement IV is incorrect: NW-97 is the Sunderbans Waterways in West Bengal — not NW-111.
• The paper has simply swapped the two numbers.

Exam Tip

• the trap is a straight swap between III and IV.
• India has 111 declared National Waterways under the National Waterways Act, 2016; NW-1 (Ganga, Haldia-Prayagraj) and NW-2 (Brahmaputra) are the most frequently asked.

Additional Information

• India has 111 declared National Waterways; the principal operational ones are NW-1 (Ganga, Haldia-Prayagraj), NW-2 (Brahmaputra, Dhubri-Sadiya), NW-3 (West Coast Canal, Kerala) and NW-4 and NW-5.
• The Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI), set up in 1986, develops and maintains them.
• Waterways move freight at roughly a quarter to a third the cost of road transport, which is the policy argument behind the Jal Marg Vikas Project on NW-1.