IMPRESSIONS OF A TOUR IN THE PUNJAB – II
J.C. Kumarappa
Flour Grinding
One can see in many villages bullock driven chakkis which are held as common property. People take their own flour. Where these chakkis are owned by private individuals a small charge is made. Most of these are now idle as the power-grinding mills can be heard to throb at several village centres to which people take their grain and have them ground. At the base of the Himalayas where perennial streams come down from the heights, the simple tribes people of Kangra have harnessed these streams to grind flour and dehusk paddy. A small waterfall 8 to 10 feet is sufficient for their purpose. They take advantage of the slopes to direct the streams through their fields and obtain cheap water power. Kangra is a rice-growing district. Here it may be possible to introduce starch making also.
Palm Gur Making
In the parts of the province where date palms grow wild it is possible to introduce palm jaggery making as an industry. At present the people get fruits only and the male trees stand useless.
Bee-keeping
The hill tribes dwelling at the foot of the hills bury in the mud walls of their houses old pots leaving outside a small hole of about an inch and a half in diameter. Honey bees build their combs in these pots. After every harvest the bees are smoked out and the honey is extracted by squeezing out the combs. By this destructive method they obtain about 2 to 3 seers of honey every time. On an average they get about 10 seers a year per colony. At the Government Apiary at Nagrota they get nearly double that quantity – about 42 pounds per colony. If a trained bee keeper can go around and help the Kangra people to use scientific methods, their output can be easily doubled. The one interesting point about these hill people is that they do not sell their honey, but use it for themselves. If the demonstrator helps them in extracting honey and in the inspection of the hives to keep them safe from the enemies of the bees, and charges for this service in terms of a proportion of the produce his establishment will be able to pay for itself.
Tanning
All over the province there is a considerable amount of tanning being done in a very indifferent way. This industry needs special attention to improve it in all its aspects. The efforts at the Government Tanning Institute at Jalandhar are far too small in comparison with the work to be done.
(Gram Udyog Patrika September 1939)