Inland Waterways Authority of India

India has an extensive network of inland waterways in the form of Rivers/Canals/Backwaters and Creeks.  The total navigable length is 14,500 km, out of which about 5200 km of river and 4000 km of canals can be used by mechanised crafts. Freight transportation by waterways is highly underutilised in India compared to other large countries and geographic areas like the USA,China and the EU.

Inland Waterways Authority of India(IWAI)created by the Govt of India on Oct 27,1986 is the statutory authority in charge of the waterways in India. It does the function of building the necessary infrastructure in these waterways, surveying the economic feasibility of new projects and also administration and regulation. Its headquarters is located in NOIDA (UP)with regional offices at-
Patna/Kolkata/Guwahati/Kochi

National Waterway 1 -Estd in Oct 1986 -1620 Kms

Allahabad–Haldia stretch of the Ganges–Bhagirathi–Hooghly River system

 

National Waterway 2 -Estd in Sep 1988 -891 Kms

Sadiya — Dhubri stretch of Brahmaputra River 

 

National Waterway 3 -Estd in 1993 -205 Kms

Kottapuram-Kollam stretch of the West Coast Canal, Champakara Canal and Udyogmandal Canal

 

National Waterway 4 -Estd in Nov 2008 - 1095 Kms

Kakinada-Pondicherry stretch of Canals and the Kaluvelly Tank, Bhadrachalam – Rajahmundry stretch of River Godavari and Wazirabad – Vijayawada stretch of River Krishna

 

National Waterway 5 -Estd in Nov 2008 -623 Kms

Talcher–Dhamra stretch of the Brahmani River,the Geonkhali - Charbatia stretch of the East Coast Canal,the Charbatia–Dhamra stretch of Matai River,and the Mangalgadi - Paradip stretch of the Mahanadi River Delta

 

National Waterway 6 -Estd in Jan 2013 -121 Kms

 

Lakhipur to Bhanga of River Barak