CHAPTER IV
AGRICULTURE AND IRRIGATION
AGRICULTURE POPULATION The number of persons residing in the rural areas of the district was 10,74,931 in 1961 and 13,06008 in 1971 of whom 2,80,754 and 2,68,724 respectively were cultivators and 17,995 and 51,627 respectively were agricultural labourers. Land Utilisation and Reclamation The statement below gives the figures of net cropped area in the district in 1901, 1921, 1941, 1961 and 1975:
Culturable Land Forest land, groves, land prepared for sugar-cane fallows, waste-lands like pastures and grazing land often classified as unculturable due to excess of sand or reh or on account of ravine-scouring or overgrowth of dhak constitutes culturable land in the district. The figures of area of culturable land in the district in 1901, 1921, 1941, 1961 and 1975 are given below: Year Culturable land (In hectares)
Precarious Tracts One-fifth of the district comprised of ravinous land, bordering Madhya Pradesh, watered by the Yamuna, Chambal and Kuwari rivers and their tributaries. Merciless erosion extending over centuries has cut up the area Into deep ravines. Various branches stem from each ravine making the entire locality a veritable maze. Except for thorny bushes and grass no vegetation grows in the area, which in consequence is populated sparsely and thus the area known in local parlance as 'Behar' affords a natural hide out for bandits and other criminals. The problem of ravines is so wide spread and enormous that with the limited finance available and the poverty of the local population, it is quite difficult to visualize any scheme of reclamation. Soil Conservation The soil erosion as
defined by Austin, is the process of soil removal by natural agencies of which water and
wind sre the most active at this time. The rapid drain on soil fertility which erosion
causes would not be so alarming if the lost plant food could simply be replaced by the
application of fertilizers. The tragedy is that It is believed that centuries ago the whole area lying on both sides of the Yamuna, Chambal and Kuwari rivers must have been more or less flat but soil erosion has now cut it up into a net work of ravines. The menace of soil erosion in the district of Etawah is more pronounced in the areas which are liable to receive monsoon floods from the two major rivers whether directly or through their tributaries. The swift action of water and its run off constitute the chief cause of soil erosion in this district. The rivers carry massive volumes of water during monsoon months when they are immensely swelled up covering extensive areas, on both sides. During this period the rivers gradually change their course and flow with terrific speed as a result of which large areas of land are eroded. This process when continued from year to year has re sulted in formation of vast gullies specially in areas near the Yamuna and Chambal. Other factors which may contribute in the process of soil erosion are the deep slopes in the landscape near Yamuna due to. which large volumes of water flow swiftly from the elevated flatter areas carrying with it finer particules of the soil into the main stream. The erosion of erst while gullied and denuded land is thus a continuous process and the extent of the damage increases from year to year. This type of erosion is mostly noticed in the vicinities of Yamuna and Sengar in the Etawah and Bharthana tahsils. Another type of damage from soil erosion is noticed in the district in the top-layered, light-textured soil areas where the sur face soil is very slowly, washed away due to the action of large volumes of rain water on the denuded surface. The fine particles of soil are thus eroded in the form of thin sheets and carried away to the neighbouring lowlying areas found in innumerable depressions. This type of erosion is known as sheet erosion which removes valuable productive soil as well as plant food from the surface. Such damage can be checked by maintaining vegetative covers on the soil surface during the monsoon so that the impact of rainwater and fast moving run-off may be brought to a minimum. The total area in the district affected by this menace was 39,829 hectares in 1975. The soil conservation programme was taken up in 1949 in village Dalipnagar situated in the Yamuna Kachhar. In view of serious ravines continuous gully plugging with the aid of mechanical power was undertaken. However, it had to be abandoned as it was felt that it could not be repeated due to heavy expenditure. During 1953-54 fresh efforts were started in the Bhagganagar unit to evolve some cheaper measures to check erosion and reclaim the damaged tracts along the river Sengar. Measures required mostly manual labour which the cultivator could easily afford, such as gully plugging, contour bunding, and strip cropping etc. Short lessons, slides and also flannel graphs were prepared to educate the people and let them know the different ways of controlling soil erosion. Initially soil conservation work was started in a 10-acre block. Since then the work has been expanding and new soil and water conservation measures had been adopted in 5,327 acres of land. Agronomic practices were also adopted. The methods followed were plantation of grass on bunds and construction of dams etc. The grasses found successful are blue panic, Madras grass and among the plants caster and babul. The programme had since demonstrated its utility to the cultivators and there was growing response from the neighbouring areas. The Planning Research and Action Institute, U. P. Lucknow had taken up this programme on an elaborate scale through the agency of Pilot Project Etawah. IRRIGATION Irrigation is extensively practised in the district. Most of the area is covered by canals and in the rest of the district, the chief sources of irrigation are wells, tanks and other means of irrigation. The statement below gives the figures of the gross irrigated area in the district in 1901. 1921, 1941, 1961 and in 1975:
In earlier times the district was almost wholly dependent on wells and, to a small extent, on tanks. The well-irrigation appears to have been largely replaced by canals. No close comparisons of value can be made between the cost of canal and well-irrigation, where the expenses are disbursed in such different ways, but it is clear that the utilization, of canal water saves such a lot of trouble, saves so big an expense in cattle and irrigates at one time such a larger area that it is bound to replace irrigation from wells. The complaints brought against canals are that the supply is uncertain, and that it is not always possible to obtain water exactly when it is wanted; that the water is inferior as a fertilizing agent, and that it causes injury by the deposit of silt, by reh or by swamping. The causes of the first and partly of the third have been and are gradually being removed by improved methods of canal administration. . As regards the second, the deterioration that is alleged to set in after the first few years is rather to be ascribed to the stimulus given to the growth of wheat or other exhausting crops. The following statement gives area irrigated from various sources for some years:
Wells-Wells and tube-wells constitute an important source of irrigation in the district. Masonry wells which were few in the past have increased in number in the last few years. The character of wells depends largely on the depth at which water is found below the surface. This varies in different parts of the district. In the pachar tract the subsoil is firm and the level of water is near about six metres from the surface. In the ghar, on the other hand, the water level varies from 18 to 24 metres, while in the kurka and in the par it was so great a depth as to preclude practically all possibility of irrigation. The wells employed for irrigation are of three classes, those with masonry cylinders, those that are merely earthen and those that partake of the nature of both, being dug like as earthen well but lined with big curved bricks, generally only fitted together though sometimes set in mortar. In the post independence period the government took up an ambitious programme of construction of State tube-wells and provided, liberal financial assistance to the farmers to set up their own irrigation works like construction and boring of wells and installation of rahats (persian wheels) and diesel or electric pumping sets In 1972-73 there were 64 State tube-wells in the district commanding an area of 11,059 hectares. The actual irrigated area however was only 6,014 hectares in 1972-73, 3,601 hectares in rabi, and 2.413 in kharif. Financial assistance for private minor irrigation works was largely provided by Government. The statement below gives the details of minor irrigation works completed in the district in each five-year-plan period including the potential created : Before 1st Name of works 1st 2nd 3rd IV Plan IV Plan year of Plan Plan Plan 5th Plan :
Canals-Canal irrigation was first introduced in the district in 1855 when the Ganges canal was opened for irrigation. The Ganges' canal, starting from the head work at Hardwar in the Saharanpur district, traverses Meerut and Bulandshahr and continues as far as Nanu in the Aligarh district. At this point it bifurcates into two branches, the Kanpur and Etawah, whose directions are sufficiently indicated by their names. In 1877 the whole canal system of the lower Doabs underwent radical alteration. A new weir was completed in that year at Narora in Aligarh, and a channel was cony; structed from the weir which intersected the Kanpur and branches of the old Ganges canal at a point aoproximately 48 Kilometres from Nanu. The small lengths of the old Kanpur and Etawah branches, lying between Nanu and the point of intersection by the channel from Narora, were known as "stumps". They were practically, utilised only to supplement the supply of water in the lower Ganges system when necessary. A few years later .the channel from Narora was continued beyond the point of intersection across the Sengar and Sersa rivers past Shikohabad in Mainpuri into the ghar tract of Etawah, and became the Bhognipur branch : the whole system comprising the Kanpur, Etawah and Bhognipur branches fed from the river at Narora being Called the Lower Ganga canal system. The whole district is served by about 1,358 km. long irrigation channels of the existing Bhognipur branch, Etawah branch, and west Allahabad branch of lower Ganga canal system. The total area commanded by the canal is 2.12 lakh ha. of which about 40 per cent proposed for irrigation in rabi and 20 per cent in kharif. The actual average irrigation from the existing canal system for the last five years is 1 18 lakh ha. which is 92.5 per cent of proposed area. The existing supplies are inadequate for the multicropping and high yielding varieties. The main channel of the Kanpur branch does not enter the district but passes about 3.2 kilometres to the north of it in the neighbourhood of Bela by means of Kansua distributary, which has a total length in the district of 2.5 km. and the Mau minor of the Rhairanagar distributary, which is 6.4 km. long. Water for irrigation is supplied from the Kanpur branch to the north-eastern part of tahsil Bidhuna as far west as the watershed between the Arind and Pandu rivers. Between kilometres 16 and 19.3 the Kansua distributary crosses a small tract of lowlying land. The Etawah branch enters the district between the 66th km. and 67.5 km. of its course on the north western side of Etawah tahsil. It runs in a south easterly direction across the district for 74 km. and passes into Kanpur about 14.4 km. east of Phaphund railway station, its course east of Bharthana being closely paralled to that of the Northern Railways main Delhi-Kanpur line. The Bhognipur branch of lower .Ganga canal was opened for irrigation in 1880. It takes off from the Lower Ganga canal at the village of Jera in the Mainpuri district, and runs for 60 km. through that district before it crosses the Etawah border in the west of Etawah tahsil. After a course of 106 km. through tahsils Etawah. Bharthana and Auraiya it passes at kilometres 165.7 into Kanpur. The bed of the canal at the upper end is 154 m. at the lower 136 m. above mean sea level. The tract it traverses is generally a well drained one, and admirably suited for irrigation. At kilometre 64 is situated the Balrai escape which runs for 6.4 km. through ravines and discharges surplus water into the Yamuna. The Bhognipur branch is provided altogether with 386 km. of distributary channels, which supply irrigation to this district. The existing irrigation facilities are thus catering to an area of 1.33 lakh ha. out of which only 1.206 lakh ha. average is being irrigated at present as shown in the following statement:
It will be clear from the above statement that the State irrigation works commands only 56 per cent of the culturable area against which only 30 per cent is being irrigated at present. An area measuring about 0 45 lakh ha. is being irrigated by the private irrigation works. Ramganga Project To meet the requirements of intensive agriculture the work on Ramganga project is in progress. In this project a dam has been built on river Ramganga at Kalagarh in district Bijnor. The Ramganga Feeder has been completed. The additional supply available at Narora in district Bulandshahr will be picked up and distributed by the Lower Ganga canal to its various branches. About 138.218 km. long new channels have already been completed and construction work on 348.880 km, new channels is in progress These channels command an area of 8,219 ha. and will irrigate an area of 5.736 ha. The statement below shows the name of works completed, their length, commanding area and proposed area.
The above channels have
already been completed and are irrigating the area since the last 5 years according to the
availability of water Besides, 100 tube-wells are proposed to be constructed during
the 5th Five-year Plan. The area commanded by state tube-
Besides, the minor irrigation works will also be providing a potential of 5,068 ha. the end of Vth Plan. Their role will however, be supplementary in the whole district except 3.888 ha. of Barhpur and Chakarnagar Blocks. The Ramganga Project will continue in the VI Five-year Plan also. Thus, after the full utilization of surface and ground water resources the entire culturable area of 3.97 lakh ha. will be covered by the State Irrigation works, with the supplementary facilities provided by private irrigation works. AGRICULTURE INCLUDING HORTICULTURE Land and Soils The district may be divided into four main tracts. The northern portion of the district, which is separated from the rest by Sengar, is known as pachar,. It covers approximately 2,289 sq. km. or 52 per cent of the total area of the district, and presents a level expense of upland, of which the surface is only broken by occasional sandy ridges or by one or two inconsiderable streams such as the Pandu and Arind or Rind, and the latter's tributaries, the Ahneya and Puraha. The soil is for the most part a rich loam of great fertility, interspersed with large tracts of usar and frequently varied by beds of clay. It forms the most important part of the district from an agricultural point of view, and is thickly studded with well populated sites and hamlets. A new west Allahabad branch, has been constructed under Ramganga Project to provide irrigation in this area of Bidhuna tahsil. Rice is the main crop of this tract. The second tract between
the Sengar and the Yamuna is locally known as the ghar. Its characteristic soil is
red and light but fertile sandy loam. The surface which is not quite level, lies lowest
nearly midway between two rivers; and unlike the pachar, the ghar The fourth tract comprises the lands lying between the Yamuna and the Chambal known as par; It includes portions of the three tahsils Auraiya, Bharthana and Etawah. It extends from the borders of tahsil Bah in the Agra district to the point where the Yamuna, Chambal, Sindh and Kuwari unite. Soil of this tract is generally matiyar and irrigation works are seen very rarely. The soil of Etawah district is generally dumat or loam matiyar or clay and bhwti or sand. Dumat soil is mostly in the tract of ghar, matiyar is in the par and bhur in the pachar area. Besides these are found everywhere lowlying beds of clay in which water collects during the rains and rice alone can be grown, these clay beds are known as jhabar. In the ravines of the river and the land immediately adjacent to them are found fields full of kankar and gravel, the soil of which is called pakar, sandy soil mixed with gravel. Below the ravines and in the wider valleys between them the soil that is flooded by the Yamuna is called kachhar, and along the edges of the streams there is a rich strip of alluvial deposit which is known as tir. The most prevalent soil is dumat. Bidhuna has the highest proportions of dumat and matiyar. In .Auraiya is found the largest amount of bhur, pakar and alluvial soils. Besides the natural distinctions artificial differences derived from the situation of the soils with reference to the village sites are always marked and have an influence on the rental value of the land. In Etawah to a great extent these artificial differences are found to coincide with the natural classes of soil. The artificial soils are the three well known classes of gauhar, manjha and uparhar or har. The aauhar is the highly-manured and well cultivated belt surrounding the homestead; manjha is the middle belt which is regularly cultivated, but received less manure than the gauhar. the har comprises the outlying fields which are often but casually cultivated. In the pachar tract the manjha lands have usually a better natural soil than the har, as the latter are scattered often among plots of usar; but in the ohar the distinction between manjhar and har is much less marked as the soil is more uniform. Similarly in the par tract the outlying lands whether near or far from the village, are frequently of equal value, because They lie on more level soil than the gauhar. Harvests The methods of cultivation in this district are generally the same as those found elsewhere in the Doab. The application of manure and the use of water for irrigation are extensively resorted to. There are the usual harvests known as the kharif or autumn, the rabi or spring and zaid or extra harvest. The kharif crops are shown in Ashadha Sravana and reaped in Kuar-Kartika after the cessation of rains usually well before the preparation of fields for the, Rabi sowings which begin in October-November i.e. Kartika. and Agrahanya and are harvested in March-April and even May. The Zaid consists of vegetables and low grade cereals sown in March or April and reaped before June. The system of double cropping is followed to a considerable extent in the district owing to the facilities for irrigation. The figures of dofasli area for the different tahsils do not exhibit any great variations, but the proportions are highest in Bidhuna and Bharthana and the proportion is lowest in Auraiya. The relative figures of the area covered by Kharif and Rabi. crops and the area sown more than once are given below :
Principal Crops Kharif-The chief kharif htoples are the millets, known as bajra and jowar, paddy and maize. These are sown either alone or in combination with arhar. Bajra. is chiefly grown in light and sandy soil. Between 1903 and 1907 bajra alone or in combination covered 42,511 ha. or 28.47 per cent of the kharif. In the subsequent year its cultivation in the district increased by nearly 12,900 ha. In 1380 Fasli year that is 1973-74 the bajra covered an area of 77,673 ha. Jowar is generally grown in the stiffer and better soils but like bajra it is usually mixed with arhar, the proportion grown alone being only 5 per cent. Both bajra and jowar are usually sown in June on unirrigated land, the fields being previously prepared by ploughing. They are reaped in November. A considerable amount of jowar is grown only for fodder especially in Etawah and Bharthana tahsils. Another important kharif crop is rice. There has been an enormous increase in the extent of rice cultivation during the last hundred years. Several local varieties of rice are grown. In 1973 as possible in Asharh. During the ensuing month the field is carefully weeded and by the middle of Bhadon the plants usually attain a height of four feet and. the ears begin to show among the kharif cereals small pulses known as moth, urd, and moong, the small millet mandua, and hemp or sanai were largely grown in the past, but new incentives in the field of agriculture have lowered their popularity and more valuable crops like paddy, maize and sugar-cane are gradually' replacing them. In 1971-72 the combined area occupied by pulses was 9.868 and by sugar-cane was 4,663. The following statements give some relevent details of the main kharif cereals in the district in 1971-72 and in 1972-73 respectively |
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