India: Transport and Communication Study Notes

Transport and communication function as the lifelines of a country by facilitating trade, commerce, and the movement of people for jobs, education, and emergencies.
Transport shifts goods from surplus areas to deficient areas, while communication enhances economic conditions by keeping people informed of global trends and events.
These systems connect people and facilitate the socio-economic growth of diverse regions.

Roads provide door-to-door service and are the most convenient mode for shorter distances and smaller amounts of goods.
Roads are classified by material into Metalled (Pucca) roads (bricks, concrete, cement, charcoal) and Un-metalled (Kuchcha) roads (sand, mud, straw).
Administrative classification includes:
- Village Roads: Developed under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojna; accounts for $80\%$ of total road length.
- District Roads: Maintained by Zila Parisad; accounts for $14\%$ of road length.
- State Highways: Maintained by State Public Works Department (SPWD); accounts for $4\%$ of road length.
- National Highways (NH): Maintained by National Highway Authority of India; accounts for $2\%$ of road length but carries $40\%$ of traffic.
- Border Roads: Maintained by Border Road Organization (BRO) for defense and emergency access.
Grand Trunk Road: Built by Sher Shah Suri in the 16th century, now divided into NH-1 (Amritsar to Delhi) and NH-2 (Delhi to Kolkata).
Major Super Highways:
- Golden Quadrilateral: Connects Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, and Kolkata.
- North-South Corridor: Links Srinagar to Kanyakumari.
- East-West Corridor: Links Silchar to Porbandar.

Indian Railways started in 1853 from Bombay to Thane covering $34\,km$ .
It is the largest government undertaking in India, employing $1.6\text{ million}$ people and divided into $16$ zones.
Distribution is influenced by topography (dense in the Gangetic plain, sparse in mountains and deserts), industrialization, and population density.
Technical advancements include diesel and electric locomotives, the ability to book electronic tickets, and direct rail links like Jammu to Kanya Kumari ( $3751\,km$ in $71\,hours$ ).

Waterways are the cheapest mode for heavy, bulky goods and are fuel-efficient and environmentally friendly.
Inland Waterways: India has $14,500\,km$ of navigable waterways. The Inland Waterways Authority of India manages National Waterways (NW):
- NW 1: River Ganga (Allahabad to Haldia, $1620\,km$ ).
- NW 2: River Brahmaputra (Sadiya to Dhubri, $891\,km$ ).
- NW 3: Canal in Kerala (Kollam to Kotapuram, $205\,km$ ).
Oceanic Waterways: India has a coastline of $7516\,km$ with $12$ main ports and $189$ small/medium ports. These handle both coastal shipping and international trade.

Air transport began in India in 1911 and is the fastest means of travel, reaching inaccessible areas and assisting during natural calamities.
Pawanhans Helicopter Ltd. provides services to the Oil and Natural gas Corporation (ONGC) and the North-Eastern regions.
Despite its speed and strategic importance for defense, high cost remains a primary drawback.

Personal Communication: Includes postal services (India has the largest network with $1,55,000$ post offices in 2001) and telephone/mobile services.
Mass Communication: Includes Radio (All India Radio started in 1927), Television (Doordarshan started in 1959), newspapers, and cinema.
Modern Technologies:
- Internet: Provides global information access.
- E-Mail: Emerging as the fastest nearly-free means of communication.
- Tele-Medicine: Allows doctors to advise patients at a distance using telecommunication.
- Video Conferencing and E-Commerce: Facilitate remote interactions and digital trade.

Rakesh's Emergency

Prompt: Rakesh and his wife lived in a village; his wife had a severe stomachache during a storm, but no communication was available to contact a doctor. A broken road prevented his friend's tractor from reaching a hospital.
Outcome: This highlights that life without transport and communication is difficult and dangerous during emergencies.

Anu and the Railways

Question: Anu asked why her father was upset about protestors blocking tracks and burning bogies.
Response: Her father explained that millions of rupees and years of effort go into building tracks and coaches. Such acts cause passenger inconvenience, financial loss, and affect business.

Jiya's Query on Railway Networks

Question: Jiya (from Sikkim) asked why there are few railway lines in her state compared to others.
Response: It was explained that construction is difficult and costly in mountainous regions like Sikkim. Dense networks are found in plains like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and West Bengal due to flat land, agricultural production, and high population density.