Old Time Trade Routes and Highways

The old imperial highway existing from the times of Mauriyas traverses the district connecting the trade routes of Punjab, Delhi, Agra in the north-west with Allahabad and Bengal. It enters the district from Mainpuri district and passing through Etawah and Auraiya goes to Fatehpur and Allahabad district. Before the construction of railways in the district in 1862, it. was the main line of communication. The portion between Agra and Fatehpur came to be known as Mughul Road. It meets the Grand Trunk Road of Sher Shah Suri at Fatehpur. It was the practice of the Hindu kings in ancient times to provide wells and avenues as well as roofed shelters on the main roads. This road was well maintained having milestones, wells and serais and long avenues of fairly well-preserved trees. Another important road which traversed the district was Fatehgarh-Gwalior Road. These roads were of great utility in those days. During the reign of Akbar the main roads in the district were the same as they are at present except that they were unmetailed and there were ferries on the rivers instead of bridges existing at present. During the rainy season they were generally difficult to negotiate. Some improvements were affected during the Rohilla rule. Some more places were connected by roads. After the cession of the district to the East India Company in 1801. an effort was made to hold the land-owners responsible for the upkeep of the roads passing through their estates, but it did no good. Then the roads were sought to be improved by an imposition of a road cess and the formation of a road and ferry fund committee to administer the proceeds. Till 1857, all the land routes were treated as local and no metalled road had been in existence. After 1857, a network of roads running in every direction was contemplated by the authorities. In 1876, the metalled roads consisted of Etawah-Mainpuri road, Etawah-Gwalior road and Etawah-Farrukhabad road. Other roads were Phaphund railway station to Bela, Usrahar to Sandaus. Bidhuna to Achhalda, Etawah to Kalpi, Etawah to Jaswantnagar besides certain third class and village roads. Many more were added in following three decades but even in 1908 the majority of the roads were poor, many of them being impossible to travel upon during several months of the year. Many rivers flowing through the district Presented a great obstacle in the construction of roads. The roads approaching the ferries passed over expanses of drifting sand skirting the river, etc.

The following statement gives the length of each metalled road existing in the district in 1908

In addition there were 666.6 km. of unmetalled roads in the district. There was very little development of roads in the first half of the twentieth century. However, planned development of means of communications and the construction of new roads was undertaken after 1947 particularly by the public works department. In 1947, the total length of metalled roads in the district was 286.46 km. which increased to 434.5 km. in 1963. In March 1975, the total length of the metalled roads was 553 km. which is almost the double of total length of such roads in 1947.

The public works department also maintains major local roads majority of which are metalled. The following statement gives the length of each in the district :

There is also a Shrarndan road, partly metalled connecting Baburpur to Phaphund running about 16.5 km. in the district. There are also a few small feeder roads in the district.

The Zila Parishad, Etawah, maintains 47 roads in the district, of which 22 are metalled. The total length of the unmetalled roads which connect various villages is 325.7 km. The following statement gives the length of each of the metalled roads :

The municipal board, Etawah maintains 64.77 km. of roads within its limits, of these about (33 krn. of roads are metalled.

In the forest tracts many serviceable roads have been constructed by the forest department totalling 233.76 km. in the; district under the jurisdiction of the forest department. They, are primarily intended to facilitate the export of forest produce, ut at the same time, they constitute an important addition to means of communication in the forests where roads are few.

From the earliest times till the coming of the railways, the usual means of transport and travel were palanquins, horses, camels, and vehicles drawn by bullocks, buffaloes, horses and camels. The bulk of the heavy goods was moved by means of pack animals but valuable goods were usually carried in can and carriages. Horses and ponies were very rarely used for draught purposes during the Mughal period and the familiar conveyances of later days, the ekka and gari or bughee appear to have been developed since Akbar's time the former from ancient Indian and the latter from European models. People in the villages depended largely on the bullock cart and on vehicles drawn by horses and camels. Camel carts (which have disappeared from the road now) were a common sight in olden days. With the construction and improvement of metalled roads speedy mechanised transport which has the added advantage of being able to ply in almost any kind of weather, also made its appearance and today motor cars, motor-cycles, other motor vehicles, cycle-rickshaws and bicycles are a common sight in the city and its outskirts. As an economical and convenient means of transport, the bicycle is popular both in the rural and urban areas of the district. Cycle-rickshaws are a recent addition to the modes of public conveyance and are so popular that to a great extent they have driven ekkas and tongas off the roads. However, carts driven by bullocks and buffaloes are even today the main conveyance in the rural areas of the district.

In the urban areas the cycle-rikshaw is popular means of conveyance in the district. In 1974-75, as many as 1,028 rickshaws were registered in the Etawah municipal board. Generally the rickshaw-pullers do not own the rickshaws but take them on hire.

Motor trucks and buses started operating in the district since the thirties. However, there were only a few motor vehicles in the district before 1947. In the following years as the prices of buses and trucks declined due to termination of Second World War (1939-45) and military vehicles were available in large numbers, motor vehicles began to be used on the roads in larger numbers.

The following statement gives the number of registered vehicles on road as on March 31, 1977 :

Bus Service

Road transport was nationalised on certain routes in the State in 1947 to provide facilities for travelling public such as stoppages at certain definite wayside halts on prescribed routes, punctuality in the arrival and departure of vehicles, fixed rates of fares and freights, avoidance of overcrowding in buses, etc. In 1950, a sub-depot was set up at Etawah with a fleet of 20 vehicles which ran on Etawah to Kanpur and Farrukhabad routes.

The U. P. Government Roadways was constituted into the U. P. State Road Transport Corporation in 1972. The number of routes and buses plying from Etawah sub-depot has increased. The following statement gives the name of routes in 1973-74 on which the buse; of the U. P. Road Transport Corporation plied, Etawah bus station being the operating station :

There are 17 routes on which 53 buses run daily from Etawah. The district is linked with all the adjoining districts of Kanpur, Jalaun, Farrukhabad, Mainpuri and Agra through these buses. Buses can also be reserved for sight-seeing, marriage parties and other types of journeys.

The railway line was opened for traffic in 1862. The East India Railway traversed the whole length of the district from north-west to south-east. In November, 1951 the railways were regrouped and divided in zones. Etawah now lies on the Northern railways with head quarters at New Delhi.

The Delhi-Howrah main line of the Northern Railways traversing via Tundla and Shikoliahad enters the district near Balarai railway station and after traversing 35 km. in the east reaches Etawah. railway station. The railway covers a total length of 90 km. in the district.

Ferries

In 1974, there were 36 ferries in the district of which 33 were maintained by the Zila Parishad and 3 by the public works department on the rivers Yamuna, Chambal, Arind (Rind), Seugar and Sindh.

According to Asokan edicts there were rest houses and wells on the high roads. The Mauryas had a separate department to look after roads and transport and provided a number of conveniences to travellers. Sher Shah Suri and the Mughul emperores (particularly Jahangir) took great interest in providing amenities for travellers like the planting of roadside trees, building bf serais and wells along the sides of the main highways.

Due to the existence of big serais on the old imperial road in the district certain places have derived their names which are associated with serais such as Sarai Ajitmal, Sarai Bhopat, Sarai Ekdil, Sarai Baburpur. etc. Other important old serais were at Etawah. Phaphund, Auraiya, Sarai Khati, Sarai Nawar and Sarai Shishgram.

Passengers including tourists can reach the district by rail, buses and taxis. Boarding and lodging are available in all the urban centres, notably Etawah, Bharthana, Jaswantnagar, Auraiya, Dibiyapur, Bidhuna and Achhalda.

The town of Etawah is centrally located having road links with all the adjoining districts viz., Farrukhabad, Kanpur, Mainpuri and Jalaun and other districts of the State such as Allahabad, Fatehour, Mat aura, Agra, Lucknow, Meerut, Hardwar and Gwalior and Ehind district of Madhya Pradesb.

The inspection houses, rest houses and dak-bungalows in the district are maintained by different departments of the government and 3Tf chiefly for the use of their own officers, but officers of other departments members of the public and tourist are also given accommodation, if available, on payment. A list of inspection houses, rest-houses and dak-bungalows is given in Table I (a) at the end of the chapter.

The hotels at Etawah, Auraiya, Bharthana and Bidhuna provide accommodation and board. There are a few hotels at Etawah mostly within a radius of two kilometres from the district headquarters. Besides, there are a number of restaurants which provide eatables and light drinks.

There are a number of dharmsalas at Etawah, Auraiya, Bharthana and Bidhuna and certain other places in the district. They are privately managed and they charge a nominal rent for providing accommodation. The visitor has to make his own arrangements-for board. A list of dharmasalas is given in Table I (b) at the end of the chapter.

POST—OFFICES

When the British occupied the- district there was a postal service from Jhansi to Kanpur which passed through Etawah. After the freedom struggle of 1857 the work of carrying and distributing the mails was entrusted to the police and for that purpose offices were opened at the tahsils and principal thanas (police station). The system proved unsatisfactory, and in 1865 a new scheme was introduced whereby the police were relived of postal duties and the district dak service started with a regular staff. The whole district was divided into a number of circles, with a post-office in each, the police stations being generally selected for the purpose of administrative conveniences, and the mails were carried by runners. There were imperial dak lines from Etawah to the branch lines and district dak runners were employed to deliver the despatches. With the introduction of the railways in 1862 the dak began to be carried by trains, the runners being employed in the interior of the district.

In 1870-71, about 159,741 deliveries were made by the department and an amount of Rs 22,315 was earned. Further improvements were made with a view to ensure the regular delivery of letters in the villages and the system remained in force till 1876. In 1876-77, for postal purposes, Avadh was amalgamated, with the North-Western Provinces and its administration was taken over by the Imperial Government (Government of India). The district dak. was not however, altogether replaced, only important offices were taken over by the Imperial Government. There were 11 post-offices. The district dak offices were functioning at Aheripur, Airwa, Bela, Barhpura, Baralokpur, Chakarnagar, Kudar Kot, Usrahai. Rahin and Sahail. By 1908, all the post-offices were placed under the control of the Central Government.

The Post and. Telegraph department, a Central Government establishment is presided over by a director general, under whom are the post-masters general of the States. The district is in the administrative jurisdiction of the superintendent of post-offices, Etawah postal division, with headquarters at Etawah. He works under the administrative control of the post-master general of Uttar Pradesh at Lucknow.

The development and extension of roads and consequent increase in vehicular traffic and growth of population have led to the opening of more and more post-offices in the district. In 1908, there were 36 post offices in the district. The number rose to 102 in 1961 and to 254 in 1975.

Table I (a)

Table I (B)