Gazetteer Amritsar 1883

· 1883 · Public domain (published pre-1930) · archive.org ↗

1[Punjab Gazetteer,

22 CHAP. I.—THE DISTRICT,

3Chapter I. wells are upwards of fifty feet in depth, while towards the Ravi water

4= is found at less than twenty feet below the surface. Like the other dis-

5tricts of the Doab, Amritsar has also a'slight slope from the hills,

6from north-east to south-west. But itis only by scientific exami-

7nation that these changes in level can be determined, and to all

8appearance Amritsar is an unvarying plain.

9The Beds. The western bank of the Beds is high and abrupt, often ranging

1060 feet above the mean leyel of the river. Below this bank there is

11a strip of varying width, of alluvial or hddar land, changing year

12by year according to the action of the floods. A hundred years ago,

13it is said that the river ran under the village of Hamira, in Kapur-

14thala territory, seven miles fromits present course, and traces of its

15bed in this direction are clearly traceable. At present the stream,

16as a rule, hugs the high western bank closely throughout its course

17past this district. Here and there, the £hddar is perhaps a mile in

18width, but never more. The bank itselfrises high above it in a se-

19ries of bluffs and sand hills, high enough to form a conspicuous object

20from the south, and it is from the summit of this bank that the slope

21already alluded to sets in. At Wazir Bhullar ghat, where the Rail-

22way and the Trunk road cross the river, the low water or winter

23channel is not more than from 300 to 400 feet in width, but swells

24in flood time to 2 of a mile. The stream, a seething torrent during

25the rains, and 35 feet in depth under the Railway bridge, dwindles

26in the winter to a mean depth of, perhaps, 6 feet. It is even fordable

27in places. The bed is sandy throughout, and on the east side there

28is nothing whatever to interpose any obstacle in the way of a change

29of course. The é£hddar on the west bank, where it exists, is culti-

30vated and yields rich crops. The river is crossed by the railway

31bridge at Wazir Bhilar, and a bridge of boats is maintained during

32the cold season at the same place on the Grand Trunk Road. The

33ferries are detailed in Cap. IV.

34The Ravi, ‘The eastern bank of the Ravi is abrupt, but not high. Its bed

35is sandy, but any space left by the river below the flood bank is

36cultivated and yields fair crops. During the months of March and

37April, the depth in most places is not more than a foot, but swells

38in June and September to 18 or 20 feet. The floods have hada

39tendency of late years to encroach northwards upon Sialkot

40to the advantage of this district. CQultivable soil, thrown

41up by the river, is called ¢élan or khoba. The river is

42fordable at all points during the winter and spring months. The

43ferries are detailed in Cap. [V. At Kakkar on the Amritsar and

44Gujranwala road till 1879 a bridge of boats was kept up, except

45during the four months of flood.

46Canals, The Bari Dodb and the old Hasli canals are fully described ia

47the Gazetteer of the Gurdaspur district. Both the main Bari Dodb

48canal and its Lahore branch pass through the breadth of the dis-

49trict, the former a short distance to the east of the city of Amritsar.

50The district is crossed by several natural lines of drainage,

51which convey the surplus surface water of the country more imme-

52diately below the hills into the Ravi or the Beds. Of these, the only

53one which can be called a stream, is the Kirran or Sakki. This takes

54its rise in the Bahrampur marsh (in Gurdaspur), and running past

55Lines of drainage

56and swamp,

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