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Seaports and Towns

Harbour and port
Port: It is a gate way to the land from the sea and from land to the sea. It has all
qualities of a good harbour. It has docks and berths to handle ships and their
cargo.

Harbor: It is a partially enclosed area by a creek, an estuary or a sea inlet. It

provides shelter only to the sailing vessels. But it doesnt provide facilities for
the handling of cargo.

Major ports in India

There are twelve major sea ports located along the coastline of the country.
Six ports are located on the east coast and remaining six are located on the east
coast.
The Eastern coastal sea ports are
a) Tuticorin b) Chennai c) Visakhapatnam
d) Paradeep e) Haldia f) Kolkota

The Western coastal sea ports are

a) Kandla b) Mumbai c) Jawaharlala Nehru port
d) Mormagao e) Mangalore f) Cochin

Advantages of Mumbai port:

1. It is the largest city in India and also the capital of Maharashtra.
2. It is the largest industrial centre for export and import of goods through this
port.
3. It has well connected rail, road and air network, with the interior parts of the
country.
4. It has an extensive and productive Hinterland.
5. It is the nearest port to Europe, North America and West Asia for the exports
and Imports
6. As it has a natural deep water harbour, it provides safe shelter for the ships
in all season.

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Problems of Calcutta (or) Kolkata sea port:

1. Kolkatta port is a river based port and it faces the problem of silt
accumulation problem in the river.
2. Lack of sufficient depth of water during dry season.
3. This lack of depth of water creates hindrance for the free movement of ships
from the bay to the port.
4. The diversion of exports and imports to the newly developed ports of
Visakhapatnam and Paradeep.

Practice Bits

1. The biggest port having three major docks in India is -

a) Mumbai b) Kolkata c) Chennai d) Cochin

2. The queen of the Arabian sea is ____ port.

a) Mumbai b) Cochin c) Kandla d) Mangalore

3. The two natural harbours in India are -

a) Mumbai and Kolkata b) Chennai and Paradeep
c) Cochin and Visakhapatnam d) Kandla and New Mangalore

4. The port on the east coast of India exporting iron ore to Japan is -
a) Mangalore b) Tuticorin
c) New Mangalore d) Visakhapatnam

5. The port that lies at the tip of the Indian Peninsula is -

a) Paradeep b) Mangalore c) Tuticorin d) Visakhapatnam

6. This is the second largest one handling sea-borne trade.

a) Visakhapatnam b) Paradeep
c) Mangalore d) Tuticorin

7. This is the third largest one in handling sea-borne trade -

a) Visakhapatnam b) Cochin
c) Chennai d) Paradeep

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8. The length of our sea coast is about -

a) 4000km b) 5000km c) 6100km d) 7000km

9. One of the important imports of Kolkata port is -

a) Tea b) Jute products c) Sugar d) Fertilizers

10. Kolkata port is situated on the banks of the river -

a) Hoogly b) Indus c) Brahmaputra d) Mahanadi

11. Chennai port was built in the year -

a) 1850 b) 1859 c) 1885 d) 1895

12. This is the nearest port to Europe, North America, Russia and West
Asia
a) Cochin b) Mumbai c) Chennai d) Kandla

13. The biggest commercial centre of South India is -

a) Mumbai b) Chennai c) Visakhapatnam d) Cochin

14. One of the important exports from Visakhapatnam is

a) Crude b) Petroleum c) Fertilizers d) Iron ore

15. Tea, Rubber and coffee are mostly exported from the port of -
a) Visakhapatnam b) Mumbai
c) Chennai d) Cochin

16. In the hinterland of Kolkata, the crop that is mostly grown is -

a) Cotton b) Jute c) Oil seeds d) Tobacco

17. One of the important exports from Kolkata port is -

a) Chemicals b) Jute c) Tea d) Petroleum

18. One of the important imports of Mumbai port is -

a) Mica b) Manganese c) Petroleum d) Coal

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19. The number of major ports in India are -

a) 12 b) 11 c) 13 d) 14

20. Visakhapatnam port serves the need of ____ steel plant.

a) Bhilai b) Bokaro c) Rourkela d) Both c and d

Key

1. a 2. b 3. c 4. d 5. c 6. b 7. a 8. c 9. d 10. a
11. b 12. b 13. b 14. d 15. d 16. b 17. b 18. c 19. a 20. d

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