1 SALT REVENUE DEPARTMENT FOR THE OFFICIAL YEAR 1896-97.
2 20. The sales and deliveries at the three lesser mines and REVIEW BY SECTIONS,
3 depdts of Warcha, Kalabagh and Nurpur during the past four PUNJAB MINES.
4 years will be found in the following statement :— Sales and deliveries at the
5 Warcha, Kalabagh and
6 ae ATE
7 Nurpur mines,
8 Warcha. Kalabagh. 2 “ Nurpur.
9 Year. i
10 Sales. Deliveries. Sales. {Deliveries. Sales. Deliveriés.
11 Mds. Mas. Mads, Mds. | Mds. | Mds.
12 1893-94 ... vee | 1,07,271 | 1,09,754 67,266 70,695 4,808 4,614
13 1894-95... vs | 1,01,9385 | 1,05,085 80,324 77,350 4,122 4,316
14 1895-96 ... si 85,198 81,726 98,152 93,159 4,486 4,530
15 1896-97 ... ies 99,028 99,820 83,101 5.200 4,111 4,153
16 Compared with 1895-96, there was an increase during the
17 past year at Warcha of maunds 13,830 in sales and of maunds
18 18,094 in the quantity of salt removed. The increase in the
19 trade occurred in connection with marts on the Sind Sagar Branch
20 of the North-Western Railway. The trade with marts along
21 the left bank of the Indus was particularly brisk; and it is
22 noteworthy that anumber of small markets received supplies
23 direct. The salt of the Warcha Mine is of good quality, but
24 it lies under the disadvantage of being nine miles from the
25 nearest railway station, Ganjial, on the Sind Sagar Branch.
26 In the trade of the Kalabagh depédt there was a decrease
27 during the past year as compared with 1895-96, of maunds
28 10,051 in sales, and of maunds 7,959 in deliveries. The prin-
29 Cipal trade of this depét is with the line of country between’
30 Attock and Multan and with Sukkurin Sindh. Fluctuations in
31 the principal marts were as follows:—Multan imported maunds
32 55,088 compared with maunds 59,664 during 1895-96, a dec-
33 rease of maunds, 4,576 ; Muzaffargarh took maunds 1,719, against
34 maunds 2,942 in 1895-96, a decrease of maunds 1,223; and
35 Sukkur in Sindh took maunds 9,985 against maunds 12,352 in
36 1895-96, a decrease of maunds 2,367. The decline of the trade
37 of this depdt was, however, met by the increase in the traffic
38 from the Warcha Mine.
39 The sales and deliveries from the Nurpur depdt were very
40 slightly below those of 1895-96, and do not call for remark.
41 The trade of this depot is entirely with villages in the protect-
42 ed areas of the salt range, and the demand upon it is entirely
43 local.
44 The following are figures of quantities of salt sold for
45 consumption within the protected areas of the salt range during
46 the past three years:—
47 Mds,
48 1894.95 nt 4; os s 18,729
49 1895-96 a om a aa 19,605
50 1896-97 se “ ‘ we 20,195
51 There is an increase in the sales of the past year as com-
52 pared, not only with the figures of 1895-96, but also with those
53 of 1894-95. Tilis is satisfactory, considering the temptation
54 there must have been to remove salt from the outcrops of Rock
55 salt during a period of high prices of food graing like the
56 year under report.
57 ( 15).