India 2018

620 India 2018
crop benefited through irrigation infrastructure. With the fast changes taking
place in the farm front with notable reduction in the area under rice cultivation,
even the distribution system already developed for gravity irrigation to service
rice cultivation now require realignment.
Drinking Water
Demand for water is increasing due to multitude of human activities in the
country. The primary responsibility of providing drinking water facilities in
the country rests with the respective state governments. In urban and rural
areas of the state, 29 per cent and 71 per cent of the population were covered.
Power
Power sector plays a vital role in all developmental activities in Kerala.
Obviously power crisis is the prime obstacle to start new initiatives in the
industrial field. Kerala is a power deficit state which imports 60 per cent of
power from other states. A major achievement is that it has achieved full
electrification in all villages.
Transport
Transport sector plays a pivotal role in the overall development of the country
which enables social, cultural and trade development between countries.
Transport infrastructure consists of fixed installations, roads, railways, airways,
waterways, canals, pipelines and terminals. Kerala holds a good transport
system. The roads are maintained by National Highway Authority, public works
department, local bodies, Department of Irrigation, Kerala State Electricity
Board, Department of Forest, railways, etc.
Port Sector : Kerala lies in the south west corner of the Indian peninsula. It has
a coastal length of 585 km and has an average width of about 60 km with one
major port at Kochi and 17 minor ports. The geographical location of the state
is very close to international shipping route. There are 17 minor ports, out of
which 3 are considered as intermediate ports based on berthing, cargo handling
and storage facilities available in them. These have contributed much to the
development of industry, trade, commerce and agriculture in the country.
Railways : Railways are essentially the cause for industrial upsurge in the nation
and it still remained the largest employment provider for the huge population
of the country. The total railway route in Kerala has a length of 1257 km and
covers 13 railway routes.
Air Transport : Kerala has three airports at Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi and
Kozhikode, handling both international and domestic flights.
Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode airports are owned by Government of
India and Kochi airport is owned by Kochi International Airport Ltd., a
company set up by Government of Kerala with public private participation.