1 REPORT ON THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE NORTHERN INDIA
2 n
3 REVIEW BY SECTIONS. lation of weak brine into them was very active, ‘ kosetas’ (the
4 PACHBADRA.
5 charsa ’ of Northern India, or leather bag worked with a rope
6 and pulley wheel) had to bé employed to draw off the excess of
7 brine in them, and keep down percolation ; this resulted in the
8 old impure brine in the pit, the bitterns, being drawn off—an
9 immense benefit to the pits, as when re-set they contained only
10 fresh brine. (.)
11 “Pit No. 607 in Bara Sambra, on the extreme south-west
12 edge of the tract, which is reputedly one of the finest pits in Bara
13 Sambra, was thoroughly cleaned out by the owner, Birdha of
14 Munig, at a cost of about Ks. 250. The immediate result is dis-
15 appointing, as there is only about a foot of brine in the pit, and
16 unless the coming rainy season is avery wet one, the prospect
17 of the pit turning out as good as it is reputed to have been is
18 doubtful. Another pit in Bara Sambra, .belonging to Birdha
19 of Maya Ram, and which is one of the (“ Talia”) pits lying below
20 my bungalow, has been attended to last year. It is impossible
21 to say how the pit will turn out as it was briwful of water.
22 “Both the experimental pits have been set with Morali.
23 during the year, and all that remains is to wait until the salt in
24 them is fit to take out. The pit in Chota Sambra will I esti-
25 inate in theseason of 1896-97, produce about 10,000 mannds of
26 first class salt. The salt in the pit in Bara Sambra will be fit
27 to. harvest early in 1897, and I anticipate that the crop will
28 amount to about 5,000 maunds of first class salt. About these
29 experimental pits I need only repeat what I wrote in my report
30 for 1898-94. The experiment of restoring the two pits isa .
31 success, but a success due entirely to the very heavy rainfall of
32 the past three.seasons.
33 “The Kharwals have on the whole behaved well during the
34 year and have given no trouble which was not settled without
35 much difficulty. They seem contented and appear to under-
36 stand that what is wanted of them is for their own good quite
37 as much as it is for that of the department. ‘Though they under-
38 stard that to keep their pits in good repair, to fully re-set them
39 with MsSorali at the proper time, and to trench the salt when the
40 pit is full of salt results in a crop of the kind we want for sale
41 _ to the public, and though they are quite willing to do or have
42 done all that is rrcessary, the really great difficulty is to induce
43 them to do it with tf money they are paid by us for their salt.
44 They are a thriftless lat, and with few exceptions foolishly
45 squander every rupee thoy get from us, and this is why
46 they never have any woney to spend on their pits.
47 During the past two years higve had the pits attended to
48 as far as the supply of labour \allowed and have had them
49 properly set with Morali (thereby securing a future supply of
50 good salt) by withholding a sufficient portion of the price of the
51 salt until the work required was ddne or he/ping them to borrow. -
52 the necessary funds from their c4ste-fellows and mahajans on
53 ' the security of the probable excesses in their heaps, which ex-
54 cesses were assured by under-estim4tion of the salt, The Khar-
55 wals know this and are satisfied now thaugh at first they were
56 inchned to be otherwise. Formerly they used to borrow what
57 was wanted to re-set their pits at; 60 per cent, compound inter-
58 est, besides having to pay 124 per cent. as kata or aceommoda-
59 tion. Now on the security of the excess oferestimation of salt
60 in their heaps they can borrow at. 12 percent. All this has of
61 course not been achieved without, what seemed to be endless
62 worry and trouble but the object in view was worth the trouble
63 and the net result is that while the Kharwals have been got to
64 ( 52 )