question_answer

Compare the west coast ports of India with that of the east coast ports in terms of goods handled, hinterland, other salient features.

Answer:

West Coast Ports	East Coast Ports
(i) Kandla is a tidal port located at the eastern edge of Gulf of Kutch. It was the first port developed after independence and has a free trade zone. Its hinterland covers the northwestern parts of India, mainly Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Gujarat.	(i) Tuticorin in Tamil Nadu, located at the south eastern extremity of the country, has a natural harbour and a rich hinterland and handles cargoes to Sri Lanka and Maldives.
(ii) Mumbai has a spacious natural and well sheltered harbour and second the biggest port.	(ii) Chennai is one of the oldest ports and has an artificial harbour. It ranks in terms of volume of trade and cargo next to Mumbai.
(iii) Jawaharlal Nehru port is a subsidiary port developed mainly to reduce the congestion of Mumbai port	(iii) Visakhapatnam is the deepest, land locked and protected port in the east coast.
(iv) marmagoa in Goa is mainly developed for export of iron ore.	(iv) Pradip, in Orissa, in mainly developed for export of iron ore.
(v) New Magalore is also developed for export of iron ore from Kudremukh in Karnataka	(v) Kolkata, a major port, is a riverine port and a tidal port. It has a vast and rich hinterland of Ganga, Brahmaputra basin.
(vi) Kochi is the sixth major port located at the entrance of a lagoon and has a natural harbour	(vi) Haldia is a subsidary port developed to relieve the congestion of Kolkata port.