'REPORT ON THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE BOMBAY PRESIDENCY FOR THE YEAR 1904-1905' [‎155r] (85/116)

1904-1905.]
IKEIGA.TION.
f °t the
'aste
^6 duri
Weirs,
rin»
o
%
°f 4e last 10 Ie J'
11,203
15,993
.1,423
4,312
141
5,007
3,710
2,567
1,111
15,157
15,280
)7,285
1,510
8,917
2,815
[0,669
4,910
[0,545
537
3,079
3,713
1,150
7,154
55,564
554
78,567
48,420
10,489
51,957
719
17,452
9,079
27,250
106,171
61
(b). Important events which have occurred concerning worlcs.
Although the revenue derived from the Nira Canal during the year under report was larger
than the average of the past 10 years, there was nevertheless a falling off from the revenue of
the previous year, the gross revenue being Rs. 2,01,203 against Rs. 2,31,214 in 1903 04. This
was due to the swarms of locusts which made their appearance early in February in all the
villages commanded by the canal and continued their ravages for 3 or 4 months. The shoots of
new sugarcane were eaten as they came up and in all 3,200 acres of this valuable crop bad to
be ploughed up. Damage in a minor decree was also caused to sugarcane on the Mutha Canals
and ocher irrigation works in the Poona District. The increased area irrigated on the Nira
Canal, viz. 48,821 acres against 30,638 acres in 1903-04, was due to the fact that the rainfall
in the kharif season was not very satisfactory and there was a fairly large demand for water
for dry-crops ; also P although the early rabi rainfall w r as good, the late rains failed and there
was consequently a very high demand for water for rabi crops causing a marked rise in the
area of such ciops. ^ The variations in the case of other works in the Division do not require
special mention, being mostly rises due to the unfavourable nature of the rainfall.
(c).—Engineering questions that have arisen.
The automatic gates for the waste weir at Lake Fife are alluded to in the first part
of the report. 1
Arrangements are being made for tne provision of automatic gates in the case of the
reservoirs at Chankapur and Waghad.
The undersluiees required for the. masonry dam at Chankapur have been ordered from
England and aie to be on the Stoney pattern. With regard to the utility of undersluices,
cross-sections have been taken at Lake Whiting where undersluices exist, with a view to deter
mine the deposit of silt in the bed, and observations taken during the last four years show that
the undersluices are effective in keeping the reservoir practically free from silt. In the case of
Lake Fife where there are no undersluices and where the first floods come into the lake when it
is paitly full, laige quantities of silt are deposited in the upper reaches of the lako where silt is
deposited, when the velocity oil incoming water is checked on entering the lake and thus the
available capacity of the lake is being steadily reduced.
For the purpose of ascertaining the actual line of saturation of dams, pipes were driven into
the rear slopes and observations were made of the height to which water rose in them. For
various reasons the experiments were not quite satisfactory, and they are to be continued for
another year when it is hoped some valuable information may be obtained.
Surveys, fyc.
A rough project for supplementing the supply to the Ojbar Right and Left Bank Canal has
been submitted to Government. It provides for a masonry dam at Bhandardarra, 250 feet
high, capable of impounding, roughly speaking, a storage of 8,000 million cubic feet. This
dam when constructed will be one of the highest dams in the world. The earthwork of the
Ojhar Right Bank Canal extension was partially completed during the famine of 1900 and
suiveys foi the enlargement and extension of the Left Bank Canal are in progress.
y ear P^ ans ari( ^ > es ^ ma ^ es £° r providing two additional storage reservoirs for
the Mutha Canal above Lake Fife were submitted to the Government of India. The estimated
cost of the work, which includes certain improvements to the Mutha Canal made necessary by
e provision of the extra storage, is Rs. 41,30,911. The demand for water on this canal is
much m excess of the supply regularly available and additional storage has been a long-felt
- n \ o 0 torm the two reservoirs masonry dams are to be constructed, one 111 feet and the
other 121 feet high ; the contents of the reservoirs are to be 2,247 million cubic feet and 2,419
million cubic feet respectively. When these reservoirs are completed the combined storage
aval a e for the Mutha Canals will be 8,621 million cubic feet. The area ot sugarcane that
e extra storage from these two reservoirs will provide for is estimated at 7,500 acres. givin«*
an additional income of Rs. 3,00,000. > b ^
[d).—Result of new administrative measures affecting the Department which have been tried.
s y st ? m .^ as k een introduced into 30 villages on the Nira Canal since January
IQII aud a PP ]i ? ations k ave been accepted for the period of 6 years ending 15th January
h ’ 'll ex P lamed in Iast y ear ' s report the object of the system is to locate the irrigation in
each village for a term of years in selected areas, so that instead of being scattered and shifting,
as at present, it may be concentrated in blocks and treated as more or less permanent. At the-
same time the system will enable the.canal water to be utilized economically and the benefits of
irrigation to be equably distributed over a larger number of villages than at present. The total
area tor which such applications have been received is 11,370 acres against 18,000 as sanctioned
y_brovernorient. Some difficulty was experienced at first in obtaining the consent of the
uitivators to have their lands included in blocks, but when the object aimed at was clearly
xplained, they withdrew their objections, and the chief reason that the full area was not work-
ea up to was that many cultivators could not obtain the capital required for sugarcane owing to-
e seveie loss they suffered in 1904 from the destruction of the crop by locusts. It is hoped,
oweyer, that next year there will be a demand for the whole of the balance. The block system
as aim been introduced into two villages on the Shetphal Tank, 1,971 acres being applied for
as against 2,070 sanctioned by Government, the reasons why the area applied for fell short of
e sanctioned limit being the same as for Nira Canal. The introduction of the Block system
s ago been sanctioned for the Bhadalwadi Tank in the Poona District and complete proposals
l0 r the same are ready. • r r
b 780—16
Chap. IV.
PRODUCTTOST
AND
DISTRIBUTION’.