Class x (Geog.)

1. Class x (Geog.) Contributed by: 1. karthik 2. vikacith

2. For a long time, trade and transport were restricted to a limited space. With the development in science and technology, the area of influence of trade and transport economy. It is thus, evident that a dense and efficient network of transport and communication is a pre-requisite for local, national and global trade of today.

3. India has one of the largest road networks in the world, aggregating to about 2.3 million km at present. In India, roadways have preceded railways. They still have an edge over railways in view of the ease with which they can be built and maintained. The growing importance of road transport vis-à-vis rail transport is rooted in the following reasons..

4. Golden Quadrilateral Super Highways: The government has launched a major roaddevelopmentproject linking Delhi-Kolkata-Chennai-Mumbai and Delhi by six-lane Super Highways. The North-South corridors linking Srinagar (Jammu & Kashmir) and Kanyakumari (Tamil Nadu), and East-West Corridor connecting Silcher (Assam) and Porbander (Gujarat) 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).

5. National Highways: National Highways link extreme parts of the country. These aretheprimary road systems and are laid andmaintainedby the Central Public Works Department (CPWD).

7. India has a road network of over 4.42 million kilometres (2.059 million miles) making it the second largest road network in the world. At 0.66 km of roads per square kilometer of land the quantitative density of India’s road network is similar to that in the United States (0.65) and far higher than that of China's (0.16) or Brazil's (0.20). However, qualitatively India's roads are a mix of modern highways and narrow, unpaved roads. As of 2008, 49 percent - about 2.1 million kilometers - of Indian roads were paved.[1][2]

9. Advantages of Roadways Roads with grade separation generally allow traffic to move freely, with fewer interruptions, and at higher overall speeds; this is why speed limits are typically higher for grade-separated roads. In addition, less conflict between traffic movements reduces the capacity for accidents. Motorways, though having higher average speeds, usually have much lower accident rates per distance travelled than roads which are not grade separated

11. Border Roads Organisation The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) maintains roads that serve the borders areas of India. It is staffed with a combination of Border Roads Engineering Service officers from the General Reserve Engineer Force (GREF) and officers from the Corps of Engineers of the Indian Army. The organisation develops and maintains arterial roads on the borders of India. The BRO is also involved in the construction of a tunnel at the Rohtang pass. BRO's activities have also helped to accelerate the economic development of the North and North-Eastern border states of India.

12. 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, pilgrimage along with transportation of goods over longer distances

14. MAJOR SEA PORTS With a long coastline of 7,516.6 km, India is dotted with 12 major and 181 medium and minor ports. These major ports handle 95 per cent of India’s foreign trade.

15. Waterways Since time immemorial, India was one of the seafaring countries. Its seamen sailed far and near, thus, carrying and spreading Indian commerce and culture. Waterways are the cheapest means of transport.

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