1 REVIEW BY SECTIONS.
2 MANDI MINES.
3 Sales.
4 Destination. of Mandi salt,
5 Quarries worked:
6 REPORT ON, THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE NORTHERN INDIA
7 ‘
8 29, The total quantity of salt sold at the mines, and the
9 quantity registered for export to British territory and for cor -
10 sumption in Mandi and other Native States in the past four
11 years, is as follows :— ‘
12 For export to | p, :. :
13 Year. British tersi- | Forse im Na} potal:
14 tory. ; .
15 Mads. Mads, Mds.
16 1891.92 84,185: 55,527 1,39,713
17 1892-93, 73,468 51,028 1,24,496
18 1898-94 = 77,602 | 56,424 1,34,026
19 1894-95 54,709 1,28,789
20 74,080 :
21 The total quantity of salt sold in 1894.95 amounts to.
22 maunds 1,28,789, being less than in the preceding year by
23 maunds 5,237. The sales declared for British and for native
24 territory share the decrease, that in the first case amounting to
25 maunds 3,522 and in the latter case to maunds 1,715. All of
26 the decrease in the sales declared for British territory took.
27 place at the Guma quarry. To the Kangra district there
28 was a decreased export of maunds 4,237 and to Kullu an
29 increased trade of maunds 893, In the trade with Simla there °
30 was a small falling off of 178 maunds. In this last direction
31 a decrease has been going on for years past, and is due to Pun.
32 jab Mines rock salt displacing Mandi salt since the railway
33 line was opened to Kalka. In addition to thesales declared
34 for the Kangra district, the Superintendent estimates that one-
35 half of the salt taken to Mandi City, or maunds 19,000 roughly,
36 is ultimately removed for consumption into the Hoshiarpur
37 district by men who do not go either to Guma or Drang,
38 but prefer to make their purchases at Mandi itself, The de-
39 erease in the declared trade to Native States is as follows :-—
40 Mandi, maunds 2604 ; Suket, maunds 421 ; Chamba, maunds
41 584; Bilaspur, maunds 415; and Rampur Bisahir, maunds 560.
42 30. The Superintendent reports that the Drang quarry
43 remained in good working order throughout the year, and
44 was able to make up for the deficient output of the Guma
45 quarry, and that the latter was very often closed. He reports
46 that “in May 1894 the Guma quarry was working well, and, large
47 quantities of salt being extracted, when the contractor who
48 carries the salt from the quarry to the godowns, failing to get
49 sufficient. labour, reported the Dori or head miner, for extract-
50 ing more salt than could be removed, with the result that the
51 Dori was fined two rupees for doing his duty, and extracting
52 all.the salt he could.” The consequence was that, from that
53 time until the rains set in and closed work, the Dori did not
54 put himself in the way of being again fined for this cause..
55 Fortunately there were some 13,000 maunds of salt in the go-.
56 downs or sheds when the rains commenced. During the rains
57 large slips (as usual) took place, and completely put astop to
58 quarrying, and the trade was supplied from the storage sheds.
59 By the end of October the quarry was open again and extrac-
60 tion resumed, but the new salt was not issued and the trade was
61 hampered by the petty state officers in charge, who insisted on
62 the balance of stock in the storage sheds being cleared before
63 they would allow new salt to issue, and as the Guma salt is
64 never of the best and does notimprove by keeping, large:
65 ( #2 )