NCERT Solutions for Class 12 Geography Ch 10 Transport and Communication

1. Choose the right answers of the following from the given options.

(i) In how many zones has the Indian Railways system been divided?

(a) 9

(b) 12

(d) 14

► (c) 16

(ii) On which river and between which two places does the National Water Way No. 1 lie?

(a) The Brahmaputra, Sadiya-Dhubri

(b) The Ganga, Haldia-Allahabad

► (b) The Ganga, Haldia-Allahabad

(iii) In which of the following year, the first radio programme was broadcast?

(a) 1911

(b) 1936

(d) 1923

► (d) 1923

2. Answer the following questions in about 30 words.

(i) Which activity does transportation convey? Name three major modes of transportation.

Answer

Transport conveys the basic activity of mobility. It is a tertiary activity. The three major modes of

transportation are aviation, land transport, which includes road, rail and off-road transport, and ship transport.

(ii) Discuss advantages and disadvantages of pipeline transportation.

Answer

Advantages of pipeline transportation:

• These are the most convenient and efficient mode of transporting liquids and gases over long distances.

• Even solids can also be transported by pipelines after converting them into slurry.

• It involves low energy consumption.

Disadvantages of pipeline transportation:

• Its capacity cannot be increased once it is laid.

• Maintenance of the security of pipeline is difficult.

• The detection of leakage is also difficult.

• All solid substances cannot be transported.

(iii) What do you mean by ‘communication’?

Answer

Communication is an activity of conveying information through the exchange of thoughts, messages or information by speech, visual, writing or behaviour.

(iv) Discuss the contribution of Air India and Indian in the air transport of India.

Answer

Air transport is the fastest means of movement from one place to the other. It has reduced distances by minimising the travel time. It is essential for a vast country like India, where distances are large and the terrain and climatic conditions are diverse.

Air transport in India made a beginning in 1911 but its real development took place in post-Independent period. The Airport Authority of India is responsible for providing safe, efficient air traffic and aeronautical communication services in the Indian Air Space. The authority manages 125 airports. In 2005, it carried 12.2 million passengers and 4.8 lakh metric tonnes of cargo. In 2005, domestic movement by Indian Airlines involved 24.3 million passengers and 20 lakh metric tonnes of cargo.

Indian airlines were incorporated in 1953. Now Indian Airlines is known as ‘Indian’. The country’s largest state-owned domestic carrier, Indian Airlines dropped the word ‘Airlines’ from its name and is known as ‘Indian’ with effect from December 8, 2005.

3. Answer the following questions in about 150 words.

(i) Which are the chief means of transportation in India? Discuss the factors affecting their development.

Answer

The chief means of transportation in India are Land, Water and Air. The use of transport and communication depends upon our need to move things from place of their availability to the place of their use.

The factors affecting their development:

• Land transport comprises road, rail and pipeline. India has one of the second largest road networks

in the world with a total length of about 56 lakh km. Roads play an important role in linking the interior areas with the markets and urban centres. With the economic and technological development, metalled roads and railways were developed to move large volume of goods and people from one place to another. Indian Railways facilitates the movement of both freight and passengers and contributes to the growth of the economy. Railway network is relatively less dense in the hill states, north eastern states, central parts of India and Rajasthan. Ropeways, cableways and pipelines were devised to cater to the demands of transporting specific goods under special circumstances.

• Water transport is an important mode of transport for both passenger and cargo traffic in India. It is the cheapest means of transport and is most suitable for carrying heavy and bulky material. It is also beneficial for engaging in international trade through long and indented coastline of India. Inland waterway also links the different regions within the country efficiently. It is the cheapest means for bulky cargo.

• Air transport has reduced distances by minimising the travel time. It is essential for a vast country like India, where distances are large and the terrain and climatic conditions are diverse.

(ii) Give a detailed account of the development of railways in India and highlight their importance.

Answer

Indian railways network is one of the longest in the world. It facilitates the movement of both freight and passengers and contributes to the growth of economy. Indian Railway was introduced in 1853, when a line was constructed from Bombay to Thane covering a distance of 34 km.

It is the largest government undertaking in the countiy. Its network length is 63,221 km. Its very large size puts lots of pressure on a centralized railway management system. Thus, in India, the railway system has been divided into sixteen zones. Indian Railways has launched extensive programme to convert the metre and narrow gauges to broad gauge. Moreover, steam engines have been replaced by diesel and electric engines. This step has increased the speed as well as the haulage capacity.

The replacement of steam engines run by coal has also improved the environment of the stations. Metro rail has revolutionized the urban transport system in Kolkata and Delhi. Replacement of diesel buses by CNG run vehicles along with introduction of metro is a welcome step towards controlling the air pollution in urban centres.

Areas around towns, raw material producing areas and of plantations and other commercial crops, hill stations and cantonment towns were well-connected by railways from the British colonial era. These were mostly developed for the exploitation of resources. After the Independence of the country, railway routes have been extended to other areas too. The most significant development has been the development of Konkan Railway along the western coast providing a direct link between Mumbai and Mangalore.

Railway continues to remain the main means of transport for the masses. Railway network is relatively less dense in the hill states, north eastern states, central parts of India and Rajasthan.

(iii) Describe the role of roads in the economic development of India.

Answer

The role of roads in the economic development of India:

• Road transport is relatively suitable for shorter distance travel.

• Construction cost and maintenance of roads is cheap.

• Roads can traverse comparatively more dissected and undulating topography.

• Road transport also supplements the other modes of transportation.

• Perishable commodities like vegetables, fruits and milk are transported more easily and quickly by roads than by railways.

• Roads supplement the ports and airways.

Short Answer Type Questions

Question 1.

Explain the functions of National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).

Answer:

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) was operationalised in 1995. It is an autonomous body under the Ministry of Surface Transport. It is entrusted with the responsibility of development, maintenance and operation of National Highways. This is also the apex body to improve the quality of the roads designated as National Highways.

Question 2.

List some major projects of NHAI.

Answer:

NHAI has taken up some major projects in the country under different phases:

Golden Quadrilateral: It comprises construction of 5,846 km long 4/6 lane, high density traffic corridor, to connect India’s four big metro cities of Delhi- Mumbai-Chennai-Kolkata. With the construction pf Golden Quadrilateral, the time-distance and cost of movement among the mega cities of India will be considerably minimized.
North-South Corridors: North-South corridor aims at connecting Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir with Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu (including Kochi-Salem Spur) with 4,076 km long road.
East-West Corridor: The East-West Corridor has been planned to connect Silchar in Assam with the port town of Porbandar in Gujarat with 3,640 km of road length.

Question 3.

Explain the functions of Border Roads Organisation.

Answer:

The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) was established in May, 1960.

Functions:

It aimed at accelerating economic development and strengthening defence preparedness through rapid and coordinated improvement of strategically important roads along the northern and north-eastern boundary of the country.
Border Road Organisation has completed over 40,450 km of roads by March, 2005.
Apart from the construction and maintenance of roads in strategically sensitive areas, the BRO also undertakes snow clearance in high altitude areas.

Question 4.

Give the reasons for regional variations of the low density of roads in India.

Answer:

The reasons for low density of roads in India.

Nature of terrain:

Construction of roads is easy and cheaper in plain areas.
It is difficult and costly in hilly and plateau are better in plain areas.
The density and quality of roads is relatively better in plain areas as compared to hilly areas, rainy and forested areas.

Level of economic development:

Density and quality of roads is high in urban areas.
It is very low in rural areas.
Important towns are the nodes of north India.

Question 5.

What do you know about Konkan railway?

What is the significance of Konkan railway?

Answer:

One of the important achievements of Indian railways has been the construction of Konkan railway in 1998.
It is 760 km long rail route connecting Roha in Maharashtra to Mangalore in Karnataka.
It is considered as engineering marvel. It crosses 146 rivers, streams, nearly 2000 bridges and tunnels.
Asia’s largest tunnel which is nearly 6.5 km long also lies on this route.
States of Maharashtra, Goa and Karnataka are partners in this undertaking.

Question 6.

What is the importance of air transport?

Answer:

It is easily accessible to places of uneven topography.
It is important for transportation of perishable goods.
It is the fastest means of transport which takes comparatively lesser time to make the passengers reach their destination.
It is efficient during calamities.
It has strategic importance also.

Question 7.

What is pipeline and why is it important?

Answer:

Pipeline is the cheapest means of transport as only once the construction has to be done and it has low operational cost. It is important because:

It is the most convenient and efficient mode of transporting liquids and gases over long distances.
It solves the problems of loading and unloading of raw materials and finished goods.
This ensures the uninterrupted supply of raw materials to the refineries and finished products to the consumers.
It is ideally suited for transport of liquids and gases.
It can be laid through difficult terrain and underwater also.
It involves low energy consumption.
It rules out transhipment losses.

Question 8.

Explain the Super National Highways of India.

Answer:

Golden Quadrilateral: It comprises construction of 5,846 km long 416 lane, high density traffic corridor to connect India’s four big metro cities of Delhi- Mumbai-Chennai-Kolkata. With the construction of Golden quadrilateral, the time-distance and cost of movement among the mega cities of India will be considerably minimised.
North-South and East-West Corridors: North-South corridor aims at connecting Srinagar in Jammu & Kashmir with Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu (including Kochi-Salem) with 4,076 km long road. The East-West corridor has been planned to connect Silchar in Assam with the port town of Porbandar in Gujarat with 3,640 km of road length.

Question 9.

What is Internet? What are its uses?

Answer:

Internet is one of the most effective and advanced personal communication system.

Uses:

It enables the users to establish direct contact e-mail to get access to the world of knowledge and information.
It is also used for e-commerce and carrying out money transactions.
The internet is like a huge central warehouse of data, with detailed information on various items.
It enables us with the basic facilities of direct communication.

Question 10.

What are National Highways? Give its three characteristics.

Answer:

The main roads which are constructed and maintained by the central government are known as National Highways.

Characteristics of National Highways are:

These roads are meant for inter-state transport and movement of defence men and material in strategic areas.
These also connect the state capitals, major cities, important ports, railways functions, etc.
The length of the National Highways constitutes only two per cent of total road length but carry 40 % of road traffic.

Question 11.

What are border roads? How are they important for the country?

Answer:

Roads along the northern and north-eastern boundary of India are known as border roads. The Border Road Organisation (BRO) was established in May 1960 for accelerating economic development and strengthening defence preparedness through rapid and coordinated improvement and suffers daily necessities to border areas.

Example; Roads in high altitude mountainous terrain joining Chandigarh with Manila. This road runs at an average altitude of 4,270 metres above the mean sea level.

Question 12.

When did air transport begin in India? Explain its present state.

Answer:

Air transport in India made a beginning in 1911 when airmail operation comm¬enced over a little distance of 10 km between Allahabad and Naini. But its real development took place in post independent period. The Airport Authority of India is responsible for providing safe, efficient air traffic and aeronautical communication services in the Indian Air Space. The authority manages 126 airports including 11 international, 86 domestic and 29 civil enclaves at defence air fields.

Question 13.

What are the limitations of the pipeline transport?

Answer:

Pipelines are not flexible.
The capacity laid cannot be increased.
The security of pipelines is little difficult.
The repair of underground pipelines is not easy and leakages cannot be detected easily

Long Answer Type Questions

Question 1.

Explain the factors affecting Indian Railways.

Answer:

The pattern of Indian railway network has been influenced by geographical, economic and political factors.

Geographical Factors: The North Indian plain with its levelled land, high density of population and rich agriculture presents the most favourable conditions for the development of railways. However, the presence of a large number of rivers makes it necessary to construct bridges which involve heavy expenditure.

There are practically no railways in the flood plains of many rivers in Bihar and Assam. The plateau region of south India is not as much suitable for railways as the North Plain area. The Himalayan region in the north is almost entirely devoid of railways due to its rugged topography.

Some railway terminals such as Jammu Tawi, Kotdwar, Dehradun, Kathgodam, etc. are found on the foothills. Some narrow gauge railway tracks are found in the Himalayan region. A railway link

between Jammu and Kashmir valley is being planned at a veiy high cost. The sandy areas of Rajasthan are also not much favourable for railways.

There was no railway line between Jodhpur and Jaisalmer till 1966. Similarly, forested areas of Madhya Pradesh and Odisha, deltaic swamps of West Bengal, marshy areas of Rann of Kachchh and hilly tract of Sahyadri are also unfavourable for the development of railways. Sahyadri can only be crossed through gaps like Thalghat, Bhorghat and Palghat to reach coastal trail heads like Mumbai, Vasco-de-Gama, Mangalore and Kochi. Obviously, the railways tend to follow the path of least resistance.

Economic Factors: Railways develop more in the economically advanced areas where the need for railway network is felt more. Conversely, railways bring about economic prosperity to the areas through which they pass. This is because of the economic linkages that we find the highest density of railways near big urban and industrial centres and in areas which are rich in mineral and agricultural resources.

Political and Administrative Factors: The present railway system in India is the legacy of the British rule. The British administration planned the direction and pattern of the railway lines in such a way that they could exploit the valuable raw materials of India for the benefit of their industries and flood the Indian markets with the finished goods from Britain.

Besides, the Britishers wanted to maintain their military supremacy, for which quick movement of troops and arms was necessary and construction of railways became unavoidable. Thus, top priority was given to the big ports of Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai. These ports were connected with their hinterlands by railway lines to facilitate imports and exports. It is from the ports that the railway network spread to other parts of the country.

Question 2.

What recent steps have been taken for development and modernisation of Indian railways? Why is unification of gauges important? What role does railway network play in economic development of our country?

Answer:

Recent development and modernisation steps taken in Indian railways:

Extensive programme to convert the metre and narrow gauge to broad gauge.
The steam engines have been replaced by diesel and electric engines. .
The new trains have increased speed.
The environment of the stations have improved. There have been computerised reservations, automatic electronic signals, loading facilities, etc.
Introduction of metro in Kolkata and Delhi have set an example for other states also.
Railway routes have been extended to other areas such as Konkan railway between Mumbai and Mangalore.
Improved passenger services on the trains include AC coaches, pantry services, bedding facilities, etc.

Unification of gauges is important:

Unification of gauges will bring uniformity across the country.
It helps in increasing capacity with broad higher speed.
It provides higher speed at economical rates.
Reduction in transhipment losses, eliminates wastage of time and money.
Maintenance of single track is easy and it promotes comfortable travelling.

Contribution of Indian railways to economic development:

The major bulk commodities transported by railways are coal, food grains, cement and fertilizers.
The haulage of food grains increased to about four times between 1970-71 to 2004-05. It has now reached upto 44.07 million tons from 15.1 million tons.
It shows production has substantially increased.
The transport of fertilizers has increased many times from 4.7 million tons in 1970-71 to 23.7 million tons in 2004-05. It shows improvement in the agricultural sector as it provides the base for agri¬cultural development.
The transport of coal has increased from 47.9 million tons in 1970-71 to 251.7 million tons in 2004-05. It shows the expansion of railways. Moreover, the consumption of coal has brought major industrial development.

Question 3.

Discuss the growth and role of TV and radio in mass communication.

Answer:

Radio: Radio broadcasting started in India in 1923 by the Radio Club of Bombay. Since then, it gained immense popularity and changed the social-cultural life of people. Government took mode of communication under its control in 1930 under the Indian Broadcasting System. It was changed to All India Radio in 1936 and to Akashwani in 1957 (TV).

Television: TV broadcasting has emerged as the most effective audio-visual medium for disseminating information and educating masses. Initially, the TV services were limited only to the national capital where it began in 1959. After 1972, several other centres became operational. In 1976, TV was delinked from All India Radio (AIR) and got a separate identity as Doordarshan (DD). After INSAT-IA (National Television-DDl) became operational, Common National Programme (CNP) was started for the entire network and its services were extended to the backward and remote rural areas. TV and radio play an important role in mass communication.

All India Radio broadcasts a variety of programmes related to information, education and entertainment.
Special news bulletins are also broadcast at specific occasions like session of parliament and state legislatures.
They are used for the purpose of advertisement of various products.
They are used to create awareness on government policies and programmes.
They are also used to create awareness about various diseases and their precautions. In this way they act as public health measures.
Weather forecasting information, important facts and figures reach to general public only through radio and TV.

Question 4.

Explain the primary and secondary inland waterways of India.

Answer:

India has 14,500 km of navigable waterways, contributing about 1% to the country’s transportation. It comprises rivers, canals, backwaters, creeks, etc. At present, 3,700 km of major rivers are navigable by mechanised flat bottom vessels. For the development, maintenance and regulation of national waterways in the country, the Inland Waterways Authority was set up in 1986.

The authority has declared inland national waterways:

National Waterway 1: Allahabad-Haldia stretch (1,620 km): It is one of the most important waterways in India. It is navigable by mechanical boats up to Patna and by ordinary boats up to Haridwar. It is divided into three parts for developmental purposes:

Haldia-Farakka (560 km)
Farakka-Patna (460 km)
Patna-Allahabad (600 km).

National Waterway 2: Sadiya-Dhubri stretch (891 km): The Brahmaputra is navigable by steamers up to Dibrugarh (1,384 km) which is shared by India and Bangladesh.

National Waterway 3: Kottapuram-Kollam stretch (205 km): It includes 168 km of west coast canal along with Champakarcanal (23 km) and Udyogmandal canal (14 km). Inland Waterways Authority has also identified ten other inland waterways, which could be upgraded. The backwaters (Kadal) of Kerala has special significance in Inland Waterway. It provides cheap means of transport and also attracts a large number of tourists in Kerala. The famous Nehru Trophy Boat Race (VALLAMKALI) is also held in the backwaters.

National Waterway 4: specified stretches of Godavari and Krishna rivers alongwith Kakinada, Puducherry stretch of canals (1078 km).

National Watery-5: Specified streches of Brahmani along with Matai river, delta channels of Mahanadi & Brahmani rivers and East Coast Canals (588 km).

Question 5.

Explain the functions of Oil India Limited (OIL).

Answer:

Oil India Limited (OIL) operates under the administrative set up of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas. It is engaged in the exploration, production and transportation of crude oil and natural gas. It was incorporated in 1959 as a company.

Functions:

It constructed Asia’s first cross country pipeline covering a distance of 1,157 km from Naharkatiya oilfield in Assam to Barauni refinery in Bihar.
It was further extended up to Kanpur in 1966.
It has also constructed another pipeline in the western region of India of which Ankleshwar-Koyali, Mumbai High- Koyali and Hazira-Vij aipur-Jagdishpur (HVJ) are most important.
Recently, a 1256 km long pipeline connecting Salaya (Gujarat) with Mathura (U.P.) has been constructed.
It supplies crude oil from Gujarat to Punjab (Jalandhar) via Mathura.
OIL is in the process of constructing of 660 km long pipeline from Numaligarh to Siliguri