Dress and Ornaments
Dress --- In the urban areas men wear tahmat and a shirt, a pair of pyjamas and a shirt or a piece of pantloons and a shirt in summer and a wollen suit, or a coat, or chaddar in winter. In the rural areas, men generally wear a tahmat and a shirt or kurta. Among. Bagris and Bishnois, a dhoti and a shirt were commonly worn, but now the dhoti has been replaced by the tahmat. Pagri (turban) is commonly used by men in the villages. The dress of educated persons is practically the same in the urban and rural areas.
The dress of women in the urban areas varies from a salwar
and a shirt, a blouse and a saree to ghagra and a choli. The school-going girls
wear a shirt with a salwar a shirt with a pair of churidar-pyjama, a mini-shirt
with a pair of bell-bottomed trousers.
The typical dress of women in the Fazlika in tehsil comprising a ghagra (a long
skirt reaching the ankles) and a small shirt is fast going out of fashion. In
the rural areas, women generally wear a salwar and a shirt. The Bagri and Bishnoi women wear the ghagra with a choli
or a shirt and usually cover their face with an orhani (hearwear). The educated
and the school or college-going girls put on the same dress as their
counterparts in the urban areas.
Ornaments --- The old type of ornaments and jewellery for the head, forehead, ears, nose, neck, arms and hands, waist, feet and ankles, of women in the district have not totally become extinct. Some of theses are still worn by women on important occasions. The ornaments now in common use comprise earrings, jhunkas, topas, a koka for the nose, necklace, a locket, mangal sutra, bangles, karas, rings etc. The ring forms the only ornaments in common use by men. Earrings are still worn by the elderly men in the rural areas. On festive occasions or fairs, kanthas (necklace with large gold covered beads) are worn by the Jats in the rural areas.
Food – The dietary habits of the people of a certain area are
determined by the food items grown there and the habits and the taste of the
people. A notable feature of the present trend is that the old difference
between the food items, and the habits between the urban and rural people is
decreasing day by day. As the staple food,
wheat is fast replacing the coarse cereals, such as maize, bajra and jowar, among the poorer
sections of the people in the rural areas. The urban people, however, take
vegetables and fruits more freely, as these are easily available in the urban
areas all the year round. Of late. The consumption of rice and confectionery
including biscuits, bread, etc. is increasing. Sweets are taken by all, according
to their means and tastes, especially on festivals. The vegetable oil has to a
great extent replaced ghree as a cooking medium. The well-to-do people,
however, use partly ghee and partly
vegetable oil. The use of meat and eggs
is on the increase, though certain
sections of the people may abstain from these items of food on religious
grounds. Smoking and consumption of liquor are also on the increase.
Tea and coffee have
replaced milk and lassi (buttermilk). In summer, people take soft drinks, such
as aerated water, syrup, shikanjbin (lemon-juice mixed with sweetened water).
The use of ice has become very common.
(iv) Communal Life
Fairs and
Festivals --- The cultural heritage of the people is reflected in their fairs
and festivals which trace their origin from some religious beliefs and are
based on a spontaneous mass appeal. There is a chain of functions, fairs and
festivals, all the year around, among the Hindus, The Sikhs, the jains, etc.
Some of them signify the change of seasons and celebrate the anniversaries of
incarnations of God, gurus, saints and notable personages. Lohri, Basant,
Shivartri. Holi and Hola, Baisakhi, Dussehra, Diwali, etc. are the main
festivals. The Sikhs also celebrate the births and martyrdom days of the Gurus. Besides common festivals, the Jains
celebrates the birth anniversaries of Tirthan-karas (prophets), particularly
those of Parshvanath and Mahavira.
The
Muslim calendar is based on the movements of the moon round the earth.
Therefore their festivals rotate throughout the year. There are tow festivals,
viz. Id-ul-Fitr (the of the breaking of
the Ramazan fasts) and Id-ul-Ziha (festivals of sacrifice). The Christians
celebrate the festivals of the New Year Day, Good Friday, Faster and Christmas.
The
Republic Day (26th January) and the Independence Day (15th
August) are observed as common national days of rejoicing all over the country.
Apart from the above
mentioned fairs and festivals, the following local fairs are celebrated in the
District.
Serial Name
and Place Date Remarks
No.
1.
Shahidi Mela at Mari March To commemorate the martyrdom
Mistafa of the warriors of the first Anglo-Sikh war (1845-46)
2.
Shahidi Mela at the 23
March To pay homage to Mar tyrs
Martyr’s Memorial Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev near
the Hussainiwala and Rajguru, who were cremated on the bnk of Saluj on 23 March 1930.
3.
Baisakhi at the Mar- 13
April Rural mela of the Punjab
farmers
trs’ Memorial on the on the eve of harvesting
the wheat
right bank of the crop.
Satluj.
4.
Shahidi Mela at Sara- 12
September A fair to pay homage to 21
garhi, Firozpur cant-
Sikh jawans of the Sikh
onment. Regiment, who died fighting to the end while defending the Saragarhi Fort in Wazirastan on 12 Sept-ember 1887.
5.
Shahidi Mela at 22 December A fair to pay homage to the
Ferozeshah 5,000 brave Punjabis who laid down their lives
while fighting agaisnt the
British during the First Anglo
-Sikh War on 22 December
1845.
Games, Sports and Recreations --- Games and
recreations are essential for the proper physical development of the young and
the old alike. The commonest games among the children are guli-danda,
khudo-khundi, hide-and-seek, glass balls (batans), etc. Football, volleyball,
hockey, cricket, badminton, tennis, etc. are played by the school and college
going boys and girls. The indoors games include the playing-cards, carom-board,
table-tennis, ludo, etc. the grown-up among the villagers play kabaddi,
saunchi, have wrestling bouts, etc.
The Bhangra dance is also
popular in the rural areas. It is also performed in schools and colleges at
important functions. In the villages, bards and dhadis provide entertainment by
reciting ballads are popular love romances.
Dramas
and cultural shows are held by local dramatic clubs in the towns. Ramlila is
also staged for nine days before Dussehra.
Cinema has become a common source of entertainment among all classes of
people high and low and young and old.
Folk-songs and Cultural Life --- The ideas
and sentiments of the people are expressed through folk-songs which reveal the
different facets of like in a certain area. These are sung on different
occasions. Some of the fold-songs are common throughout the Punjab. A few
folk-songs, peculiar to this District,
are given below :-
Sithni (on the occassion of marriages)
Sade tan vehre
mudh makai dai
Dane tan Mangda undhal
gai da
Bhathi tan tapdi
nahin
Bhati tan tapdi
nahin, nilajyo
Sade tan vehre tana taninda
Larre da peo kana
suninda
Aenak launi pai,
nilajyo
Laj tuhonu nahi
Kuri tan saadi tile di tar ae
Munda tan disda ko ghumiar ae
Jori tan phabdi nahin
Jori tan phabdi nahin, nilajyo
Laj tuhanu nahin
Chhe mahine
sunyar bathaya
Chandi de gehne
te pani pharaya
Pittal paona
saai,
Pittal paona
saai, nilajyo
Laj tuhanu nahin.
Purane gehne te rang jharaya
Saadi te bibi de pasand na aya
Naven gharaune saai
Naven gharaune saai, nilajyo
Laj tuhanu nahin
------------
Chheti chheti yekke nun,
assan yar di tareeke jana
Mere yakke ne matak nal
turna, kahli aen tan rail charh ja
Uchche tibbe main bhande manjan, utton rirh gai thali
Kaid kara deongi, maini deputy di sali
Kaid karan deongi .......................................
Hal chhadke ke chari nun
jana, jat di joon buri
-----------
Chal chaliae Chirak de mele,
munda tera main chuk laoon
------------
Jat mar giya kamainyan
karda, ni aje tere band na bane
------------
Meri rondi na varaie
Karatro, kee bhora ladduan da
----------
In our courtyard, there is a
stalk of the maize plant.
The son of the one who has eloped
with her paramour asks for grains,
But the parching furnace does not heat up,
O you shameless, why
did you not feel ashamed ?
In our courtyard, the
weaving thread is being processed.
We learn that the
bridegroom’s father in one-eyed.
It is why he uses glasses,
O you shameless, why did you
not feel ashamed ?
For as long as six months, you kept a goldsmith engaged to get
the silver ornaments gold-plated Brass (ornaments) had better been offere3d, O
you shameless, Why did you feel ashamed?
You got the old ornaments polished,
But our daughter did not like them;
You ought to have prepared new ones, O you shameless,
-----------------
Drive the ekka fast; I am to
appear as a witness for my lover in the Court
My ekka has to move at its
own moderate and graceful speed;
If you are in a hurry, board
the train.
------------------
I was cleaning my utensils on a mound, from which a salver
rolled down,
I shall get you imprisoned, I am a sister-in-law of the Deputy Commissioner.
I shall get you
imprisoned………………………..
------------------
After ploughing, he has to go for cutting the chari (sorghum) fedder,
the lot of a Jat is indeed hard.
------------------
Let us go to the Chirak Fair,
I will carry your child.
------------------
Although the Jat (as a
tiller of the soil) toiled himself to death, so meagre are the returns from
agriculture that a Jat, addressing his wife says ruefully :
“Although I have toiled
myself to death, yet I have not been able to save even so little as to be able
to get a pair of gold bracelets prepared for you”.
-------------------
No one came forward to comfort my crying (daughter) Kartaro even with a
little laddus (a very common item of
confectionery)
(e) Rehabilitation
The
communal riots, which accompanied the partition of the country in 1947,
compelled the minority commu9nities on both sides of the border to leave their
ancestral homes. After r15 August 1947, people started migrating by trains, bullock-carts
and other kinds of vehicles, and even on
foot, carrying with them essential portable household items, ready cash
and valuable. At many places, the trains and carvans were looted and the helpless migrants were killed in
thousands. The Firozpur District,
situated as it is on the border of Pakistan, the refugees poured into it from
the sides of Hussainiwala, Jalalabad, Fazilka and Abohar. They belonged mostly
to the Lahore and Montgemery districts
and the Bahalwapur State. To begin the refugees were housed in camps at
different places where they were
provided with feed, shelter, clothing, bedding, medical aid, etc. Soon after,
steps were taken to rehabilitate the rural and urban people by making available
to them the means to pursue their respective occupation.
Temporary Allotment of Land --- At first,
temporary allotment of the evacuee agricultural land was made to the displaced
persons soon after their arrival in the District. Loans were advanced for
purchasing bullocks, agricultural implements, etc. The displaced persons,
depending up0on agriculture, were asked to approach the tehsil authorities in
groups in which they desired to live in the villages. All those who were either
landowners or cultivators or had been at any time cultivating land in Pakistan,
were eligible for the allotment of land. The3 allotment was subject to the
payment of land revenue cesses and water rates and of rent, if any, due from
the evacuee owners.
Quasi-permanent Allotment of Land—Displaced
persons from the districts of Montgomery and Lahore, besides their own
colonists were settled in the Firozpur District. The temporary allotment of
land made before April 1948, was replaced by the quasi-permanent allotment with
a view to giving a sense of permanence to the allottees. For this purpose,
those possessing agricultural land in Pakistan were required to file their
claims. These claims were verified from the records obtained from the Pakistan
Government on reciprocal basis. Thereafter, land as allotted on a quassi-permanent
basis. The land left by the Muslim evacuees in the East Punjab was barely 62
cent of the area left in Pakistan by
the non-Muslim migrants. A formula of graded cuts, was therefore, evolved,
whereby the small landowners were affected less and the bigger landlords were
subjected to drastic cuts.
Besides,
taccavi loans were advanced for purchasing bullocks, agricultural implements,
fodder, seeds, tractors, for installing tube-wells, and for repairing wells and
houses. As far as possible, loans were advanced in kind to eliminate misuse.
The total amount of loans thus advanced
in the District (including the Moga and Muktsar tehsils transferred to the
Faridkot District in 1972), from 1947-48 to 1953-54, was Rs. 67,20,320.
Conferment of Propriety Rights :- Started in 1955-56, the work of transferring
permanent proprietary rights to the quassi-permanent allottees of agricultural
land was completed in 1963-64.
Garden Colonies—The Garden
Colonies Scheme, which was a part of the general rural resettlement plan, helped
the Goverment to add more area to that
already under gardens. These colonies were established in II out of then 13
district of the Punjab on fertile blocks of evacuee lands on the roadside. Each
allottee was given either a unit of 20 acres or half a unit of 10 acre.
Allotment in the Garden Colonies was made in lieu of the area allottable
under the quasi-permanent allotment
scheme. Those who received allotments in the Garden Colonies had this area
deducted from their total allotments. Provision was made in these colonies for
all modern facilities, such as tractors and power-spraying for the saving
the fruit trees from insect pests and
diseases, sanitary houses on modern lines, community dining-balls, schools, crèches
for children, dispensaries, guesthouses, clubs and reading-rooms.
Two such Garden Colonies were set up in the Firozpur
District as under :-
Tehsil Name of colony Area The number
In acres of allottees
Fazlika Balluana 1,021 55
Zira Jalalabad 548 26
Rural Housing :- Every allottee, who was holding more than
one allottable house or site was to be allowed to retain one house and one site
free of cost. All other houses of sites were to be offered to the allottees on
sale at the reserve price, provided those were surplus to the requirements of the other land allottees of the village.
In the event of their refusal to purchase the extra houses or sites, these were
to be retrieved and put to auction
through the Tehsildar, Sales. The rent with respect to surplus properties was
also to be recovered from the allottees from the date of allottment to the date
of cancellation.
All houses up to the value of Rs. 10,000, allotted up to 31 December,
1957, to the non-claimant displaced persons and to the non-displaced persons were to be transferred to them at
the reserve price and, in the event of their refusal to purchase them, these were disposed of in open
auction, if not required for allotment to the unsatisfied claimants. Houses,
which were being used for common purposes, were transferred to the village panchayats at the reserve price plus the
up-to-date rent, if they so liked otherwise, these were put to auction.
Houses up the value of Rs. 1,000, originally belonging to the Muslim
labourers and artisan and which were occupied by Harijans and the members of
the Backward Classes, were transferred to them at a concesional rate of Rs. 20 each for the superstructure and at Rs.
10 for the site beneath , if the land also belonged to the evacuee laboureres.
Each family was to get only one house at the concessional rate, whereas all
other houses in its possession were to be transferred to it at the reserve
price.
The
house, surplus to the requirement of land allottees or which were not purchased
by their occupants, were put to open auction. Plots given to the agricultural
labourers and artisan for building purposes in the model villages were
transferred to them are Rs. 10 per site. Similarly, plots allotted to
shopkeepers in these villages were transferred to them at the reserve price.
Urban Rehabilitation
Advancing of Loans – The problem of setting the urban class of
refugees was more difficult and complicated than that of the rural migrants.
These refugees comprised professionals, artisans, traders, shopkeepers and those
engaged in industry. The Government of India granted loans to persons intending
to start their own workshops, cottage industries, factories, etc. and other
professionals, such as vaids, hakims, homeopaths, lawyers, etc. These loan were
advanced by the authorities of the district in which the persons decided to
settle. The advance was free of interest for the first year and at the rate of
3 per cent for the subsequent years.
In the Firozpur
District (including the Moga and Muktsar tehsils) Rs. 19,3,31,252 was advanced
as small urban loans to the displaced persons during 1948-49 to 1956-57 under
the East Punjab Refugees Rehabilitation (Loans and Grants) Act, 1948.
Allotment of
Immovable Property --- The Government also under to : k to
rehabilitate the urban population. The properties left by the Muslims evacuees
in the urban areas were taken over as evacuee properties under the Punjab
Evacuee Ordinance IV of 1947, later replaced by the Evacuee
Property Act, 1950. The available houses, shops, etc were allotted to the
displaced persons on temporary basis. The permanent allotment disposal began in 1953-54. The properties of the
value less than Rs. 10,000 (Rs. 50,000 in the case of industrial
establishments) were allotable, whereas properties above Rs. 10,000 were
disposed by auction.
Grant of Compensation :-
Another important work was the grant of compensation by the Government
to the displaced persons for the urban immovable properties left by the them in
Pakistan. Under the Displaced Persons Claims Act, 1950, steps were taken to
verify claims with respect to these properties.
To avoid unnecessary delay, an
Inerim Compensation was
sanctioned in 1953. Under this scheme, payments were made to certain high
priority categories of displaced persons, including those drawing maintenance
allowance, disable persons and T.B patients. The payment of compensation
actually started from 1954.
The
Interim Compensation Scheme was later on replaced by the Displaced Persons
(Compensation and Rehabilitation) Act, 1954. A final scale for payment of compensation was approved under that Act in
1955. This scale was so devised as to
pay proportionately more to the smaller
claimants and less to the bigger claimants. Under the scheme,
application were invited in 1955 from all the remaining claimants who had not
been compensated on priorty basis. By 1964, 97-1/2 per cent of the cases
were settled.
On
the partition of the country in 1947, the educational institutions in the
Province were closed for housing in
their buildings the refugees who came from Pakistan. The schools and college were , thus ultilised by
the Rehabilitation Department till the time the refugees could be settled or concentrated in camps. Since
there was an acute shortage of social
workers, employees or volunteers, the school and college-going boys and girls
were deputed for social service. They were to perform multifarious duties in
the camps from dawn to dusk with a missionary zeal. Their education was,
however, not considered disrupted and matriculation certificates and higher
degrees were conferred on the students
who had served in the camps for at least three months. Those who did not
avail themselves of this concession
were given exemption from one subject in the examination . The candidates,
who had not performed any social service, had to appear in the examination held
by the Punjab University.
The
Schools and colleges opened throughout the Punjab State in March 1948. the
academic year was to end in September 1948, after which the next session
commenced and it ended in March 1949. This was done with a view to avoiding the
loss of an academic year. This arrangement also affected the local population
equally.
No
fees were charged in the schools. The examination fees charged were also returned
to the students. Regular grants were given to poor students. In colleges, the
refugee students were given loans to
enable in the case of students admitted
to the professional and technical institutions. The loans were to be repaid in
easy installments after the completion of the courses of studies. The deserving
and intelligent students were granted liberal stipends.
APPENDIX
Displaced persons from Pakistan who on the partition
the of country in 1947, settled in the Firozpur District (including the Moga
and Muktsar tehsils, transferred to Faridkot District in 1972)
District of origin Person Males Females
Lahore 1,22,224 66,207 56,017
Sialkot 2,042 1,264 778
Gujranwala 3,495 1,908 1,587
Sheikhupura 11,090 5,986 5,104
Gujrat 992 551 441
Shahpur 3,305 1,032 1,973
Jhelum 703 339 364
Rawalpindi 1,052 389 663
Attock 1,194 306 888
Mianwali 1,506 795 721
Montgomery 1,44,022 76,779 67,243
Lyallpur 17,960 9,576 8,381
Jhang 737 311 426
Multan 7,475 3,961 3,514
Muzaffargarh 796 433 363
Dera Ghazi Khan 1,622 831 791
Baluch Frontier Tract 4 -- 4
Gurdaspur(Shakar- 158 117 41
garhTehsil transferred
toPakistan in 1947)
Dadu 193 122 71
Hyderabad 88 77 11
District
of origin Person
Males Females
Karachi 327 263 64
Larkana 11 6 5
Nawabshah 402 283 119
Sukkur 20 1 19
upper Singh Frontier 333 143 190
Hazara 31 11 20
Mardan 18 12 6
Peshawar 642 410 232
Kohat 156 58 98
Bannu 150 75 75
Dera Ismail Khan 187 125 62
Quetta 232 140 92
Lora Lai 15 13 2
Zhob 9 9 --
Bulan 11 11 --
Chagai 59 59 --
Sibi 55 54 1
Kalat 3 3 --
Kharan 14 14 --
Bahawalpur 34,030 19,315 14,715
Tippera 13 1 12
Rajshahi 1 1 --
Pabna 534 534 --
Dacca 11 -- 11
District
of origin Person
Males Females
Faridpur 3 3 --
Noakhli 2 2 --
Silhet 1 1 --
Baluchistan 17 17 --
Sind 686 367 319
Census of India, 1951, Pb. District Census Hand Book, Volume II
Firozpur District, D-V-,p. elxvi)
(a) Land Reclamation and
Utilization
(i) Land Utilisation --- The utilization of land in a region
or a particular area depends
largely upon its physical, cultural and
economic environments. It is governed by such factor as the configuration of
land, amount and distribution of rainfall, fertility of the soil, density of
population and dietary habits of the people, number and types of draught and
domestic animals, agricultural practices followed, stage of industrial
development, transport facilities and demand for its produce. Any change in
these factors results in a corresponding change in land utilization.
The
following table gives the classification of the area by land use in the
Firozpur District during 1972-73 to 1978-79 :
Classification
of area by land use in the Firozpur District, 1972-73 to 1978-79 :
(Thousand hectares)
1. Total area
according
to
village papers 586 586 586 586 586 586 586 586
2.Area under
forests 7 7 7 7 6 7 6 7
3. Land not
available
for culti-
vation 47 46 46 44 46 45 45 45
4. other uncluti-
vated land excluding
fallow land 27 25 25 24 24 25 25 24
5. Fallow
land 26 25 42 26 30 25 23 25
6. Net Area
Sown 479 483 466 485 480 484 487 485
7. Area
Sown more
than once 145 166 154 226 225 224 265 247
8. Total cropped
area (6*7) 624 649 620 711 705 708 752 732
(Statistical Abstracts of
Punjab, 1973 to 1980)
Area not available for cultivation comprises
absolutely barren and uncultivable land and land put to non-agricultural uses,
such as land under buildings, roads and canal. The total area of such land in
the District was 45 thousand hectares in 1978-79. Other uncultivated land,
excluding fallow land, comprises
cultivated land, excluding the fallow land, comprises cultivable wastes,
grazing-land and land under tree groves, not included under the area sown.
Land
is termed as ‘cultivated’ if it has been sown even once during the
previous four harvests. The cultivated
are thus comprises the follow land and the net
area sown. Such land in the District measured 510 thousand hectares in
1978-79.
(ii) Cultivable Waste --- the cultivable
waste land includes all lands available for cultivation, but not taken up for
cultivation or abandoned after a few years for one reason or another. Such land
may be fallow for more than 5 years and may be covered with shrubs and jungles.
It may be assessed or unassessed and
may lie in isolated patches or blocks or among cultivated holdings. The land
reserved for pastures is not included under this head. The total area of such
land in s the District was 25 thousand hectares in 1978-79.
Most
of cultivable waste is the village common land, which is in the possession of
the village panchayat. Some of the panchayats have started direct cultivation,
but still large area remain uncultivated and are being used by the villagers
for grazing their cattle. The panchayats are trying to bring such land under cultivation and, to facilitate its
cultivation, loans, are advanced by the Government to the panchayats for
purchasing tractors and agricultural implements and for sinking wells and
tubewells.
(iii)
Reclamation of Waterlogged Areas,
Swamps, etc. --- Canal irrigation is a mixed blessing and suffers from a
serious defect. An abundant supply of water from the canals for irrigation not
only leads to the waste of water, but also causes waterl ogging and infestation
with salts in several areas, especially
on both sides of the canals. The heavy rains during 1955 and 1958 also caused
waterlogging on a wide scale in the Zira, Firozpur and Fazilka tehsil.
Waterlogging renders land unfit for cultivation. The problem was very acute in
the beginning, but it has lessened to a great extent through the digging of
drains by the Government to drain away the surplus water.
The
area under thus (salinity) and sem (waterlogging) in the District during 1973
to 1980 is given below :
For Rabi Crop
Year -------------------------------------
Thur Sem Total
1973 5,073 29 5,102
1974 5,062 2 5,064
1975 5,172 2 5,174
1976 5,331 2 5,333
1977 5,287 2 5,289
1978 5,299 2 5,301
1979 5,294 1,005 6,299
1980 5,682 2,787 8,469
(Source:
Financial Commissioner, Revenue, Punjab)
(a)Irrigation
(i) Rainfall --- Rainfall in India is erratic, with a considerable
variation not only in the year-to-year
distribution, but also during the year
and with regard to the quantity, incidence and duration.
In
the Firozpur District, the rainfall varies between wide limits. There is a
marked tendency for the rainfall to decrease as one progresses westwards. the
monsoon generally does not commence till the end of June, most of the rainfall
occurs in July and August and the early monsoon and the early monsoon showers
are often extremely local . The important September rains are uncertain,
especially in the western part of the District. Usually, there is but little rain between the
beginning of October and the end of December, but about 2.28 centimeters of it
usually falls in January and February.. The rainfall , especially in the form
of winter rains and the early monsoon showers, is often very local.
Variations in the timings of rainfall affect the sowing and the
harvesting of crops, particularly those of the crops of the kharif season. A
fair amount of rainfall towards the end of June or in the beginning of July
leads to an all-around sowing activity. A failure of rains in the second half
of July and also in August, followed by
that in September, leads to the crops being scorched by sun. However, with the
extension of irrigation facilities after Independence, the failure of corps for
want of rains in the District is becoming a thing of the past. The following
table gives the rainfall in the Firozpur District during 1973 to 1979:
Rainfall
during the months of
Year Annual -----------------------------------------------
rainfall
(cm) July August September
October
(cm)
(cm) (cm) (cm)
1973 53.16 13.80
17.73 2.80 1.22
1974 17.20 5.78
5.28 0.66 --
1975 34.97
9.49 10.04 5.52 0.49
1976 76.38 9.40 41.64 15.00 --
1977 46.48 9.38 6.58 12.70 --
1978 -- --
-- -- --
1979
38.65 9.70 8.25 8.10
0.02
(Statistical
Abstracts of Punjab 1974 to 1980)
Irrigation Facilities --- The handicap
resulting from inadequate and uncertain rainfall necessitates irrigation by
artificial means for sowing, growing and proper maturing of the crops or for
increasing their yields. Recourse is, thus, had to the river canals --- Know as
major irrigation—and the utilization of subsoil water through percolation
wells, tube-wells and pumping-sets ---known as minor irrigation. Irrigation
has, therefore, been given top priority in the country’s programme of planned
development since 1951. In 1979-80, the area irrigated by canals and wells was
49.1 and 49.3 per cent respectively of
the net area sown in the District. the
major source of irrigations, therefore, wells, including percolation wells, tube-wells
and pumping-sets, closely followed by canals.
The
following table shows the area irrigated in the District from different source
of irrigation, during 1972-73 to 1979-80 :
Net
area under irrigation in Ferozpur District, 1972-73 to 1979-80.
(Thousand
Hectares)
Source 1972-73 1973-74 1974-75 1975-76 1976-77 1977-78 1978-79 1979-80
Government
Canals
198.4 196.3 196.3 229.9 229.1 246.1 213.3 214.0
Wells 143.7 145.6
145.6 139.8 141.5
150.0 190.9 215.0
Other 1.5 1.5
1.5 0.3 0.7 0.3
0.4 0.5
sources
Total 343.6 343.4
343.4 370.0 371.3
396.4 404.6 429.5
(Statistical
Abstracts of Punjab, 1974 to 1980)
Canals
The
three main canal irrigation systems in the District systems in the District
are: Sirhind Canal System, Grey Canal System and Eastern Canal System. Each of
these in under a superintending engineer, assisted by a number of executive
engineers and subdivisional engineers. All these systems emanate from the
Satluj.
Sirhind Canal System --- This is the oldest system and takes its supply from the
Rupnagar Headworks. Previously, the channels of this system used to irrigate
the areas between Ludhiana and Fazilka on the left side of the Bikaner Canal.
Subsequently, owing to the construction of the Sirhind Feeder, some parts of
the Abohar Branch, Bathinda Branch and a number of distributaries, off taking
from this system, have been transferred to the Sirhind Feeder, which takes its
supply from the Harike Headworks and irrigates Fazlika and Abohar area lying to
be the east of the Bikaner Canal. The area falling on the north-east of Sirhind
Feeder gets supplies through Abohar Branch Upper, and Bathinda Branch of
Siirhind Canal System.
Grey Canal System --- The Grey Canals were
originally inundation channels carrying water from the Satluj for irrigating
intermittent patches where irrigation could be possible, mostly adjoining the
River. Some of these channels have been linked with the Sidhwan Branch. the
remaining inundation channels have been remodelled and renamed as Makhu Canal
System, fed by the Makhu Canal, off-taking from the Harike Head Works. This
system now covers the Zira Tehsil, except the portion which has been taken up
by the Sikhwan Branch, and a part of the Firozpur Tehsil. The Firozpur Feeder
also offtakes from the Harike Headworks.
The
Butewah Distributary and the Barneswah Distributary (offtaking from Makhu
Canal) and Mayawah Distributary and Sodhi Nagar (Sultan Khanwala) Distributary
(offtaking from Firozpur Feeder) were collectively called the Grey Canal
System. Previously, these channels used to run during the rainy season only,
but now they get regular non-perennial supply.
Eastern Canal System --- It serves
the area between the Bikaner Canal and the Satluj River, extending from the
Firozpur Headworks to the Sulemanki Headworks. No irrigation is being done in
the Punjab from the Bikaner Canal, as it is meant for irrigating the areas
falling in the Rajasthan State. The Eastern Canal irrigates some area of the
Firozpur and Fazlika tehsils.
Wells
As
assured irrigation is the key to agricultural production, the State Government
has assigned top priority to the to the
tapping of underground water through wells, tube-wells and pumping-sets. These
minor irrigation works are more dependable and can profitably be extended to
areas beyond the reach of canal irrigation. Moremore, such works help to r3educe waterlogging by keeping down the
subsoil water-table. The number of tub-wells and pumping-stets and percolation
well in the District is given below :-
Item 72-73 1975-76 1979-80
Tube-wells and pumping-sets 3,678 4,255
9,042
Percolation wells 4,132 4,132 4,312
(Statistical Abstracts of
Punjab, 1976, 1978 and 1980)
(c) Agriculture, including
Horticulture
(i) Set-up and activities of the Department
of Agricultural— the Department of Agriculture is represented in the District by the
Chief Agricultural Officer, Firozpur, who is under the control of the Director
of Agriculture, Punjab, Chandigarh. The Chief Agricultural Officer is overall
in charge of the entire agricultural operations in the District. He is wholly
responsible for preparing and executing agricultural plans in the District and
is assisted by 12 agricultural officer, 52 agricultural inspectors and 45
agricultural Sub inspectors, besides ministerial and class IV staff.
To
look after plant protection work, an assistant plant protection officer is
posted at Abohar under the direct control of the Deputy Director (Locust
control and Plant Protection), Punjab, Chandigarh. He is assisted by 4
plant-protection inspectors, posted at Abohar, Zira, Fazlika and Firozpur.
Three
assistant soil-conservation officers are posted at Firozpur, Fazilka and Zira.
Their work is supervised by the Divisional Soil conservation Officer, Firozpur.
Besides, 15 agricultural inspectors/soil conservation inspectors are posted all
over the District to attend to the soil conversation work. In addition to
these, a circle office4 headed by the Conservator of Soils is also located at Firozpur.
(ii)
Intensive Agricultural District Programme—The Intensive Agricultural District Progaramme (IADP),
which was initiated in India, in the early sixties, was the first organized
experiment on a scale, large enough to introduce such a modernizing process in
India. Unlike the older Community Development Programme, the IADP was designed specially to promote a rapid
increase in the yields of foodgrain crops
and to show how this could be achieved through work in one selected
district in one selected district in each
of India’s States. Its major emphasis was, therefore, on the cultivator
and not—as in the Community Development Programme—on the village as a whole. The support for the IADP came
from the Government of India, assisted by the Ford Foundation, the US-AID, the
Co-opertive League of America, and the
government agencies from Japan, West Germany and Demnark.
The
Intensive Agricultural District
Programme, Thus, envisages to accelerate the pace of a/agricultural development
by concentrating financial, technical and administrative resource in the
potential areas by securing a proper co-ordination of various agencies
concerned with agricultural production. The main object of this programme is to
increase agricultural production so as
to provide more food for the increasing population. The programme also aims at
providing the cultivator with all the necessary inputs he needs at the right
time and in sufficient quantities for increasing the productivity of his farm.
The
Punjab Government extended the Int4ensive Agricultural District Programme
during 1971-72 to the districts of Firozpur and Sangrur. originally, this
programme was started in the Ludhiana District in April 1961 as a pilot
programme to learn and demonstrate how the rate of agricultural development
could be accelerated. The IADP, Ludhiana has shown that the so-called
tradition-bound Indian farmer is ready to adopt innovations. It has also
demonstrated that the dependence of agriculture on nature can be shifted
towards a sure and stable process by adopting scientific methods.
Under
the Intensive Agricultural District Programme, the Pilot Project Officer was
put in charge of the Department at the district level. In the Firozpur
District, he was re-designated as the Chief Agricultural Officer with effect
from 11 February 1972.
(iii) Soils, Climate and Crops—the cropping
pattern of an area is based on its sill and climate. The crops, which suit a
particular type of soil and climate, are sown there. The present trend is,
however, to sow high-yielding and more paying crops.
Soils—The soils of Firozpur are
mostly sandy loam and definitely alkaline. Some of them are fairly right in total potash, phosphoric acid and
nitrogen.
Three types of soil are
found in the District, as detailed below:
Bet Land—The bet land extends along
the Satluj River in the form of a belt, starting right from the place the River
enters the Firozpur District near Makhu in the Zira Tehsil and ends near
Fazlika towards the Sulemanki Headworks. This belt is about 5 to 10 km in width
and 160 km in length, covering partially the Zira, Firozpur and Fazilkla
tehsils of District. This belt comprises two types of soils, viz. clayey soils
and clayey-loam soils. Patches of kallar are also seen here and there in this
area.
Clayey
soils are very hard and sloppy, when wet, with
heavy weed infestation particularly with sarkanda and the khabhai
grass. This type of land is very
fertile and grows very good crops, such as rice, sugar-cane, wheat and the
kharif and rabi fodders, such as charhi (sorghum), maize and berseem. The main
irrigation system is of seasonal canals, but the means of minor irrigation also
exist.
The
clayey-loam soils have generally been formed where the River dropped its silt
by overflowing its banks during the rainy season. These soils are very fertile
and grow all sorts of crops, including wheat, gram, barely, berseem during the
rabi season and sugarcane, sotton, paddy and and charhi during the kharif
season.
(2) Maira
Land—the maira land is neither clayey nor sandy. In the soils of his type of land, there is usually an equally
proportion of sand and clay. In the Firozpur District, these soils are mainly fond in the Fazilka
Theshil. This belt is situated bestrewn the sandy belt lying along Rajasthan
and the Hisar District (Hayrnana) on the one side towards the south and the bet
belt of the Satluj River towards the north on the other side. This belt is
considered to be the heart of the District and is mainly irrigated by the
perennial canals running form the Rupnagar and Harike Headworks.
(3) Sandy or ‘Tibba’ Soils --- This belt of
land is situated along with border of Rajasthan and the Hisar District. The
land is mainly sandy and is poor in fertility. Most of the crops in this tract
depend upon rain for their growth. The main crops grown are gram, barely and
taramira in the rabi and jawar, bajra guara during the kharif.
Major and Subsidiary Corps – There are two main
growing seasons, viz kharif and rabi, locally named sawni and harhi. The kharif
season cover the summer months an the crops grown during this period are harvested in the autumn. The rabi
season covers the winder months and the
crops grown during this period are
harvested in the spring. In between
these two main seasons, additional
crops are raised where conditions permit. These are known as zaid kharif and raid rabi crops. Torai is a zaid kharif
crop, whereas tobacco, onion, spring potato and early jawar are zaid rabi
crops.
The principal kharif crops are paddy, cotton, maize and sugarcane,
whereas the minor ones or subsidiary crops are vegetables, such as tomato,
water-melon, brinjal, lady’s finger (bhindi), kharif pulses and fruits. The
principal rabi crops are wheat, gram, barely and berseem, whereas the minor
rabi crops are rabi oilseeds (sarson, taramira, alsi and toria) and winter
vegetables, such as peas, cabbage, turnip, carrot and lobia.
Cotton (desi and
American) is the main cash crop in the District and the farmers are bringing
more and more area under its cultivation.
Detailed particulars regarding
the area under different crops and their total production in the District from
1972-73 to 1979-80 are given in Appendices I and II at the end of the chapter.
Wheat
Wheat is an important
major rabi crop of the District. The sowing of the crop begins as early as the
third week of October and continues up to the end of December. The crop is
mainly sown in November. It requires about 4 to 5 months to mature and is
harvested in April. When there is an abrupt change in the weather, the crop
matures early and is harvested early.
Paddy
Paddy is an important
kharif crop; it is a semi-aquatic plant, requiring an abundant supply of water
for its growth. It is mainly grown in Zira, Firozpur and in some parts of
Fazilka, which are waterlogged to a considerable extent. Its nursery is sown in
May and June and in transplanted in the end of June and in the beginning of
July.
Bajra
Bajra is the major
kharif crop. It is sown between the end of June and the beginning of July and
is harvested in October-November. It is mostly cultivated in the Fazilka
Tehsil.
Maize
Maize is also an
important major kharif crop. It is generally sown during June to August and is
harvested in October-December.
Cotton
Cotton is an important
kharif crop of the District and is sown between April and May and is harvested
between October and December. The Firozpur District is associated with the
cultivation of cotton, chiefly with that of the long-staple cotton which is
known is local parlance as Amrikan kapah. The soil and climate of the District
are very much suited to this crop and its cultivation received a great fillip
after the country’s partition in 1947, when it became deficit in this
commodity. Cotton (desi) is sown a bit earlier and is also picked earlier,
whereas the American cotton is picked later.
Sorghum (Chari)
Sorghum is a fodder crop and is sown from the middle
of March to the end of July. Its harvesting starts from May and continues till
December. It is ready to be used as a fodder about a month and a half after
sowing.
Barley
Barley is also an important major
crop. It is sown from the middle of September to the end of December and is
harvested in the first fortnight of April. It is raised either alone or mixed
with other crops. It can be used as a fodder after the middle of March.
Pulses
The pulses grown in
the District are gram, moong, mash, moth and masar. The most important of them
all is gram which is sown as a rabi crop at the end of the rainy season in the
beginning of October.
Barseem
Berseem or Persian
elover is a rabi fodder crop and is sown from the middle of September to the
middle of October and its cuttings are taken till the end of June.
Sugarcane
Sugarcane is a
long-duration crop, occupying the land for 10-12 months, subject to the
variations necessitated by local conditions, rainfall, irrigation facilities,
climate, etc. It is planted from the middle of February to the middle of March
and is harvested between December and April. It is not an important crop in the
District and is grown mostly in the bet areas.
Oilseeds
Rape and mustard are
the most important oilseeds grown in the Fazilka Tehsil of the District.
Vegetables
--- To augment the production of vegetables in the District, the Department of
Agriculture has posted one Agricultural Inspector (Vegetables) at Abohar to
guide the farmers in vegetables-growing and to make necessary arrangements for
vegetable seeds. Demonstration plots of different kinds of vegetable have been
set up in selected villages to demonstrate the superior performance of good-quality
seeds. Training camps are organized in different block to train the farmers in
vegetable – farming.
The area under vegetables has increased considerably, because of
the ceiling on land holdings and because of the increase in facilities with
respect to irrigation. A rise in the sale price of celery has also increased
the area under it. Vegetables are, in fact, the most paying crops for small
farmers.
The total area under vegetables in the
District in 1979-80 was about 2,112 hectares. Almost all the vegetables of the
plains, as detailed below are sown in the District :
Summer
Vegetables --- Chilies (mirch,
lady’s finger (bhindi), bottle-gourd (ghia kaddu), vegetable-marrow (chappan
kaddu), squash melon (tinda), bitter-gourd (kerala), pumpkin (halwa kaddu),
sponge-gour ( ghia or kali tori), ash-gourd (petha), musk-melon (sarda
kharbuja), water-melon (tarbuz), long-melon (tar) tomato (tamatar), arum
(arbi), sweet patato (shakarkandi), and brinjal (baingan), long and round.
Winder Vegetables --- Potato (alu), cauliflower ( phul gobhi),
cabbage (band gobhi) , knol khol, (gandh gobhi) peas (matar), radish (muli),
turni (shalgam), carrot (gajar), spinach (palak), fenugreek (methi), onion
(piaz) and garlic (lasan).
Fruit Crops and Gardens --- As the overwhelming majority of the people
in India partake chiefly of the vegetarian diet, the cultivation of fruits is
considered to be great importance. The food value of fruits has been recognized well and the fruits have become
an essential part of a complete or a balanced diet. Fruits are generally rich
in carbohydrates and proteins, which are essential for the maintenance of life
and for the growth proteins, which are essential for the maintenance of life
and for the growth of the body.
They are also very rich in vitamins
which directly influence the metabolism and growth of the body.
Citrus in the Firozpur District
occupies the largest area under fruits in the State. Of late, grape cultivation
has also become popular. The Abohar Sub-Tehsil is particularly suitable for
grapes on account of the dry climate
and the late onset of monsoon rains.
The are under fruits in the District during 1979-80, was about 8,417 hectares.
The amount of loans advanced for
grape cultivation in the District from 1972-73 is given below :
Year Amount
of loan advanced for
grape cultivation (Rs)
1972-73 20,000
1973-74
85,000
1974-75
---
1975-76
---
1976-77 ---
1977-78
1978-79 ---
1979-80
---
(Source
:Deputy Commissioner, Friozpur)
Regional Fruit Research, Abohar
The Regional fruit Research Station at Abohar is in the charge of a
senior horticulturist. Date is not grown commercially in any part of India,
except in parts of the Kutch District of the Gujarat State. About four crore
rupees’ worth of dates of certain varieties are imported from Iraq and Iran. In
view of this situation, the India Council of Agricultural Research launched in
1954-55 a co-ordinated scheme for the development of date cultivation. The Town
of Abohar situated in the heart of the arid irrigated zone, was selected for
the purpose. For the first ten years, this project was financed by the Indian
Council of Agricultural Research. Later on, it came under the control of the
Punjab Agricultural University,
Ludhiana.
As many as 49 varieties of dates
have been introduced from various countries, including the USA, Egypt, Muscat
and Pakistan. In 1980, 34 varieties, including the leading varieties of the world existed at the Research Station
at Abohar. This collection is stated to be unique and the biggest of its kind
in India.
The station has a very comprehensive
collection of citrus species or cultivators. In 1980, about 180 species or
varieties existed at the Research Station. Kinnow, which was imported from the
USA, when put on trial proved to be the
best variety and has been taken up commercially during the past few years.
Besides, about 250 varieties of grapes mostly
of the vinifera group –collected and screened at this station, a number
of them, such as Perpetta, Delight,
Thompson, seedless, Cardinal, Beauty Seedless, Kishmish Charni, have shwon promise. This station was the
first to set up three grape training systems, namely, the Arbour System, the
Telephone System and the Kniffin System.
(iv) Improved Agricultural Practices
The rapid rise in agricultural
development and production since Independence has been due to the introduction
of high-yielding varieties of crops,
the adoption of improved cultural practices (such as greater and better use of
fertilizers and deep ploughing, crop rotation, green-manuring, the use of
compost and farm-yard manure, bacterial cultures, the inclusion of leguminous
crops in rotations, the sowing of crops by using the ora method, the
line-sowing of cotton, the trench-sowing of sugarcane and the use of improved
furnaces for gur-making, and installation of tube-wells and pumping-sets.
The high-yielding varieties of different crops sown in the District are as under :
Name of crop Variety
Paddy I.r.---8,
Jaya, P.r. –106
Wheat WL-711,
HD-20009, KSML-3 Solalika,
WG-357,
WG-377, WL-1562
Bajra HB
No. 1
Maize Ganga
No. 5, Vijay, Ageti 76
Cotton Bickaneri, , F-414, J-27, J-34
(v)
Crop Competition
With a vie to promoting a spirit of healthy rivalry among the cultivators for maximizing the yields of important crops per hectare through the use of improved agricultural practices, the Crop-Competition Scheme was introduced into the District in 1951-52. Ever y year, crop competitions are organized at the village, tehsil, district and State levels.