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'Seistan. Irrigation report of the Perso-Afghan Arbitration Commission, 1902-1905. Volume I. Report and appendices. Simla: Government of India Foreign Department, 1906' [‎46r] (96/500)

The record is made up of 1 volume (246 folios). It was created in 1906. It was written in English. The original is part of the British Library: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity. .

Transcription

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CHAPTER V.
Rainfall in the Seistan basin.
In Statement L is given the rainfall in inches recorded at observatories that
fairly encompass this great drainage basin on its west, south and east sides. The
monthly average given for each observatory may be usefully arranged to bring to
notice how the"rainfall is mainly in the spring crop season while the autumn crop
season is dry, quite the opposite to the seasonal distribution of the rainfall that
descends on the plains of India.
Season.
Quetta.
Chaman.
Hindu
Bagh.
Kabul.
Seistan.
Meshed.
Tehran.
Baghdad.
Spring crop, Octo
ber to March.
7 *o 5
806
4 'S 1
8 ' 4 S
2 06
Sot
7*93
7-14
Autumn crop, April
to September.
3-40
t’72
o*8i
3 4 o
o- 4 S
3'49
1-92
1-20
Total
9 ‘ 4 S
978
5 ’ 3 2
11-85
2-51
8 50
985
8*34
The rainy season is markedly in the autumn, winter and spring while the
hot weather is dry.
The following statement has been prepared to bring this fact very promin
ently to notice, as it is of cardinal importance that the engineer trained in India
should grasp this difference between the rainfall of India and that of Afghanistan,
Baluchistan, Persia and Asia Minor*.
Season.
Quetta.
Chaman.
Hindu
Bagh.
Kabul.
Seistan.
Meshed.
Baghdad.
Autumn winter and spring rain-
fall, October to May.
858
973
S-21
II 23
249
797
8-25
Hot weather rainfall, June to
September.
0*87
005
0*11
0 62
0*02
o -53
0*09
Total
9-45
978
5-32
ir8s
2*51
8-50
8*34
It is seen how insignificant the rain that falls during the south-west mon
soon rainy season of India is compared to that which falls during the autumn,
winter and spring. The latter rainfall is derived from Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. storms which
pass over the frontier and give the winter rain in the Western Punjab ; these
showers sometimes reach the Jamna. In Seistan this rain falls in light showers
and is accompanied by much cloud which greatly adds to its value, but_ in the
mountains it must at times descend in considerable falls to cause the high and
sudden floods that occur in the rivers. The great floods are caused by heavy
rain in spring falling on deep snow accumulated during the winter. (See the
third and the last page of Appendix i of this report, and the first page of Appen
dix 21 of the ,f Revenue Report and Notes
Sir John Elliot states that in 1894 a fall of 6*23 inches was received in one
day at Baghdad ; such a fall can never be liable to occur in Seistan, or the ancient
buildings could not have stood in the way they have done. A fall of nearly one
inch of rain in one afternoon at the end of April 1903 was considered an extra
ordinary fall by the people. #
* Dr. Bellew, who had spent many years in Afghanistan, often refers in his book From the Indus to the Tigris
to the summer floods of the Helmand, whereas they are winter and spring floods; while the volume of the
river steadily diminishes through the summer to its minimum.

About this item

Content

The first volume of reports produced by the Irrigation Officer of the Perso-Afghan Boundary Commission, Seistan [Sīstān], and submitted to the Government of India, Foreign Department.

Contents:

  • 'Chapter I. The catchment area of the Seistan Lake. The trough of the Helmand River below Kala-i-Bist.'
  • 'Chapter II. The delta of the Helmand River.'
  • 'Chapter III. The inundated area.'
  • 'Chapter IV. Canals, ancient and modern.'
  • 'Chapter V. Rainfall in the Helmand basin.'
  • 'Chapter VI. Note on the evaporation from the surface of water in Seistan.'
  • 'Chapter VII. Lines of levels, maps, surveys, etc.'
  • 'Chapter VIII. Discharge observations.'
  • 'Chapter IX. The silt carried in the water of the Helmand River.'
  • 'Chapter X. The volume available for the irrigation of the delta: the duty: the culturable area that could be brought under command.'
  • 'Chapter XI. Probable rates of work if canals are made.'
  • 'Chapter XII. Irrigation works suitable to the circumstances of the people.'
  • 'Chapter XIII. Works required to gain complete control of the river for the irrigation of the delta.'
  • 'Chapter XIV. Probable cost of, and income, and percentage of profit from the irrigation works.'
  • 'Chapter XV. Drainage scheme for the inundated area.'
  • 'Chapter XVI. Schemes for utilising some large depressions either as escape, or impounding reservoirs.'
  • 'Chapter XVII. Impounding reservoirs in the trough of the Helmand: control of the floods by works in the catchment area.'

Appendices:

  • 'Appendix 1. The Hazarajat and the country drained by the Farah Rud and Harud Rud.'
  • 'Appendix 2. The trough of the Helmand River below Kala-i-Bist.'
  • 'Appendix 3. Detailed measurements of depths of water evaporated in Seistan.'
  • 'Appendix 4. Extracts from "The Irrigation of Mesopotamia" by Sir William Willcocks, KCMG.'
  • 'Appendix 5. Comparison of rates at Quetta with these on the Chenab and Jhelum Canals.'
  • 'Appendix 6. Rates of cost and of income on the Punjab Perennial Canals.'
  • 'Appendix 7. The manufacture of lime at the Consulate, Seistan.'
  • 'Appendix 8. Details of the cost of the work on the buildings erected by the Imperial Bank.'
  • 'Appendix 9. Note on lime, bricks and stone for large works in Seistan.'
  • 'Appendix 10. Comparison of rates likely to obtain in Mesopotamia with those in Egypt by Sir William Willcocks, KCMG.'
  • 'Appendix 11. Note by W A Johns, Esq., Railway Reconnaissance Officer, on the cost of excavating in the hard Seistan clay, and driving tunnels or kariz therein.'
  • 'Appendix 12. On the cost of excavation in the culturable soil of the delta and in the hard tough alluvial of the high plateaux or dasht .'
  • 'Appendix 13. The meaning of the words clay and silt .'
  • 'Appendix 14. Dates on which the Sar-i-Shela flowed in 1903.'
  • 'Appendix 15. Expenditure incurred on the Irrigation Party.'
  • 'Appendix 16. List of maps and sections packed in a tin lined case and filed in the Foreign Office, Simla.'
Extent and format
1 volume (246 folios)
Arrangement

A synopsis of contents is found at folios 12-14.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 248; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of each folio. Pagination: the file also contains an original printed pagination sequence.

The volume contains a higher than usual number of blank pages, which may have been the result of a printing error.

Written in
English in Latin script
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'Seistan. Irrigation report of the Perso-Afghan Arbitration Commission, 1902-1905. Volume I. Report and appendices. Simla: Government of India Foreign Department, 1906' [‎46r] (96/500), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/20/256, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100040681825.0x000061> [accessed 28 March 2024]

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