Gazetteer of the Amritsar District

· 1893 · Public domain (published pre-1930) · archive.org ↗

1CHAP. 1—THE DPISTUICT. a

2course, and the depression ia still clearly traneable. At present

3the stream huge the high western bank, more or less clogely,

4throughout the whole of its courss, past thie district. What

5cultivation there-jein the valley, ia carried on between the

6foot of the cliff and the normal cold weather stream, or in the

7bays of older land which lie back where the cliff recedes. At

8plices there are openings in the olif, where surface drainage

9rom: thé uplands discharges into the valley, bringing with it

10adeposit of sand, The river itself carries an immense body

11of water in the raioy peason, and in flood time, may be nearly

12a milo m= width and from 80 to 35 fertin depth, But the

13Hoods, awollen by the malting smows.on the hills, quickly eub-

14side pnd have paused their worst by the Peni ; of August,

15nitor which the highar portions of the inundated land are sown

16with course rice and pulses, In the cold wenthor, tho river

17rarely sinks so low.as to he fordahle, and ia sehiom over a

18hundred yards wide. The North-Western Stute Hailway crosses

19it Se bridge close to the «tution, known os Bess, and clou

20ta the point atwhich the Amritenr and Torn ‘liiran tulia(le

21meet. Here for road traffic a bridge of bonts weed to be

22muintsined, but this hos been discuntioued. Treapa passing

23along the Grand Trunk Road are now furrind across at

24soir? inconvenience, ‘There is no subwny below the Railway

25bridge, The high bank, on the Amritear siile, preclades the river

26boitig used for inland irrigation purposes, tinlesen canal were to

27bo taken out farup.in the Gunlispur District, near where the

28rivar lenves the hills

29ss “Pha Raviiea river of a difforont character. Hoth banks

30arefor the ravet part of equal height, and tho river in food

31time encroaches ma baat on either side, setting pew on ene

32bank and cow on tho other, and transferring whole villagos lv o

33process of erowion and averetion from oneto the other sido of the

34mais erream, For the last four miles cf ite cosree past Amritear,

35the bank is conaidormbly highor, even reavmblinethe Dhaia whieh

36overlooks the Beas, but st no other point: in ite cours ta the bank

37sufficiently high to withetand tho force of the-food current, It

38carries rnther more fertilizing silt than the Bods (which from the

39souiparalive clanrnee of its water ia sometimes oalled the alfi oy

40bitte} and where thio wilt ia thrown up heary cropa of wheat, cau,

41after the lapae of a year or two, be sae al Bat cultivation in

42the rivir Hed is always precarious, In the cold weather, the Hawi

43dwindles to m most insignificant stream, sere to the Ba:

44Boab Canal drawing of nearly all the wator at MAdhopar, and

45the river de fordab.

46much of the cold weather stream comes from springs in the bed

47Of the river, and very little of what leaves the hills, [ods ite

48way dewn to the lower reachon, The recession of the water

49bani, both in Amritsar and in other diatricta,.

50af the notin hese gone ont of the svil, and the people own-

51ing the riverain: villages havo had to resort to well-sinking

52it oppedite aliricint every village, “Fodead

53haa had on injuriowe effect on tho fertility uf the lands along

54inn] : ity | es

55Chapter 7

56Tho Ravi