11 min readConcept sheetSection A MCQ (1 mark) and objective (2 marks, two parts); Section B short answer (3 marks), map work (4 marks) and long answer (6 marks)

Roads: types, national highways, the Golden Quadrilateral and the corridors

Roads give door-to-door service and reach every terrain. Super highways such as the Golden Quadrilateral and the North-South and East-West corridors link India's big cities.

Golden QuadrilateralSuper highway linking Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata in a four-sided figure

North-South CorridorSrinagar in the north to Kanniyakumari in the south

East-West CorridorSilchar in Assam to Porbandar in Gujarat

Grand Trunk RoadBuilt across the Gangetic plain on the orders of Sher Shah Suri in the 16th century; later NH-1 (Amritsar to Delhi) and NH-2 (Delhi to Kolkata)

Merits and demerits of road transport

MeritsDoor-to-door service by cycle, rickshaw, scooter, car, bus or truck. Cheaper to build and maintain than other modes. Cheapest and handiest for a few people or small loads over short distances. Links us to stations, airports and ports. Carries perishable goods such as milk, fruit and vegetables quickly. Can be built in all terrains: hills, deserts and plateaus.

DemeritsCostly for heavy, bulky goods over long distances. Traffic jams, accidents and air pollution. Roads can be damaged by heavy rain and floods, cutting off villages.

Metalled and unmetalled roads

Metalled (pucca) roadsMade of bricks, concrete, cement or coal tar. They can be used in all seasons.

Unmetalled (kuchcha) roadsMade of mud, sand and straw. They turn muddy and hard to use in the rains.

Roads are also grouped by who builds and maintains them. Public money from taxes pays for them.

Who builds which roads

Type of road	Built and maintained by	What it links
Village (rural) roads	Built under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana, a central scheme launched in 2000	Village to village, and villages to main roads; the largest share of India's road length
District roads	Zila Parishad	District headquarters with other towns of the district
State highways	State Public Works Department (PWD)	The state capital with district headquarters
National highways	National Highways Authority of India (NHAI)	State capitals and main cities across the country; a small share of road length but a large share of traffic
Border roads	Border Roads Organisation (BRO)	Border areas, for defence needs and for people living there

Super highways

The government has built super highways linking north, south, east and west India, run by the NHAI.
They save time and fuel and keep traffic moving fast between the big cities.
Golden Quadrilateral: joins Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata, forming a four-sided figure.
North-South Corridor: links Srinagar with Kanniyakumari.
East-West Corridor: links Silchar in the east with Porbandar in the west.
The Grand Trunk Road is the oldest and longest road of the Gangetic plain. Under the old numbering it was split into NH-1 (Amritsar to Delhi) and NH-2 (Delhi to Kolkata).

Activity: find the super highway nearest your home

1
Look at the maps of the Golden Quadrilateral and the two corridors in your lesson or in an atlas.
2
Mark your town or village on the map.
3
Find the super highway closest to it: the Golden Quadrilateral, the North-South Corridor or the East-West Corridor.
4
Use the map's scale to work out roughly how far it is from your home.
5
Find out who looks after it. National highways and super highways are looked after by the NHAI.
6★
Record the highway's name, the nearest city on its route and its distance from your home.

★ key step

On the map

Golden Quadrilateral: draw four lines joining Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai and Mumbai.
Delhi: the northern corner, on the Yamuna.
Kolkata: the eastern corner, on the Hooghly in West Bengal.
Chennai: the southern corner, on the east coast of Tamil Nadu.
Mumbai: the western corner, on the west coast of Maharashtra.
North-South Corridor: from Srinagar in the Kashmir valley to Kanniyakumari at the southern tip of Tamil Nadu.
East-West Corridor: from Silchar in southern Assam to Porbandar on the Saurashtra coast of Gujarat.
The two corridors cross near Jhansi in Uttar Pradesh.
Grand Trunk Road: from Amritsar to Delhi, then along the Ganga plain to Kolkata.

In real life

Trucks on national highways carry vegetables, fruit and milk to city markets overnight. Village roads built under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana let farmers reach those highways.

Exam angle

3 marks: “Give any three advantages of road transport in India.” (1) Door-to-door service. (2) Cheaper to build and maintain than other modes. (3) Cheapest for short distances and small loads. (4) Carries perishables like milk and vegetables quickly. (5) Can be built in hills, deserts and plateaus. (6) Feeds stations, ports and airports. Any three.

2 marks: “A truck driver covers the whole North-South Corridor and then the whole East-West Corridor. Between which cities does each journey run?” North-South Corridor: Srinagar to Kanniyakumari. East-West Corridor: Silchar to Porbandar.

4 marks: “On an outline map of India, mark and label the four cities joined by the Golden Quadrilateral.” Delhi (north, on the Yamuna), Kolkata (east, on the Hooghly), Chennai (south-east coast) and Mumbai (west coast). Join them with four lines.

Remember it

Both corridors start with S: North-South is Srinagar to Kanniyakumari (S to K); East-West is Silchar to Porbandar (S to P).