Discuss the prospects and challenges associated with inland waterways as an alternative mode of transportation in India.

Recently, the inland waterways naming system has been revamped. At present there are 111 inland waterways in country. Prospects of inland waterways as alternative mode of transportation: => (1) The transportation of goods and services become cheaper. Mostly 80/ of the freight is through roadway. => (2) Presence of wide number of rivers in country. River Ganga most of the Northern states. => (3) The favourable climate is also present. Monsoon - River Godavari gets fed regularly. => (4) Inter-country transport also becomes easier. Friendship bridge between India and Bangladesh. => (5) To connect the Northeastern states. Through river Brahmaputra. => (6) Pollution can also be checked. Less emissions than road and railways.

Challenges associated: => (1) Irregular monsoon. Dry peninsular rivers. => (2) Connectivity to other areas is not feasible. Most of the rivers are fragmented in nature. => (3) Floods in the rivers. Yamuna floods. => (4) The problem of silage. In river Teesta. => (5) Adaptability for freight. Not linked extensively. The inter-linking of rivers is one of the solution to address above challenges. It should be adopted with a focus on environment conservation.