Imperial Gazetteer Of India Provencial Series Punjab Vol Ii 1908

· 1908 · Public domain (published pre-1930) · archive.org ↗

1MONTGOMERY DISTRICT

3Khem Singh established by Baba Sir Khem Singh Bedi. Ves-

4sels of brass and white metal are made in a few places. Silk

5is used to a small extent for embroidery, and in the manu-

6facture of lungis. There are four cotton-cleaning factories

7in the District, at Montgomery, Dipalpur, and Okara. The

8three which were working in 1904 gave employment to 86

9persons.

10The principal exports are wheat, cotton, oilseeds, wool, Commerce

11hides, and ghz] and the principal imports are millets, rice, trade,

12sugar, cloth, hardware, and piece-goods. Wheat, wool, cotton,

13and oilseeds go chiefly to Karachi. Kamalia and Pakpattan

14are the only trading towns of importance.

15The North-Western Railway from Lahore to Multan runs Means of

16through the District, and takes practically all the export and

17imporl^ trade. The District has only 5 miles of metalled road ;

18but as there is no wheeled traffic the want is not felt, and it

19is traversed in all directions by broad unmetalled roads, the

20most important being the trunk road from Lahore to Multan,

21and that from Jhang via Pakpattan to the Sutlej, which is a

22great route for caravans from Afghanistan bound to Delhi.

23The length of unmetalled roads is 1,079 t^iies, of which 25 are

24under the Public Works department, and the rest are main-

25tained by the District board. The Ravi is crossed by fourteen

26and the Sutlej by ten ferries, but there is practically no traffic

27up and down these rivers.

28The great famines of 1783, 1813, and 1833 all affected Famine,

29this District, while the famine of 1 860-1 was severely felt, and

30there was considerable distress in 1896-7. Owing to the

31extremely small proportion of cultivation depending on rainfall,

32real famine such as occurs from a total or partial failure of the

33crops is not likely to affect the District ; but on the other hand,

34the effect of the shortage of fodder for the cattle is most

35serious, as large numbers die, and with the half-starved animals

36that remain it is impossible to plough and irrigate more than

37half the area that can be cultivated in a good year. The area

38matured in the famine year 1899-1900 amounted to 65 per cent,

39of the normal.

40The District is in charge of a Deputy-Commissioner, with three District

41Assistant or Extra Assistant Commissioners, one of whom is

42in charge of the District Treasury and another is District

43Judge. ^ Montgomery is also the head-quarters of the Exe-

44cutive Engineer in charge of the Upper Sutlej Canals^ and the

45Extra Assistant Conservator in charge of the Montgomery

46"Forest division. "