cxxv 



265. In the Chhattisgarh Division, three Tehsildars report as 



follows : — that there are 24,728 fishermen, all 

 t Chhattisgarh Division. Opi- f h haye otlier occup ations, they are of the 

 nions ot Native officials. . ,, r . , ' . /. , 



same castes as in the other divisions ; the 



markets in all of the three districts are insufficiently supplied, except during 

 the rainy season, when a considerable amount of fry is taken and disposed of. 

 In two tehsils 75 per cent., and in one 95 per cent., are said to be fish- 

 eaters ; the amount in the waters is stated to be stationary in two districts ; 

 no answer from the third. Large quantities of fry are reported to be cap- 

 tured during the rains, computed in one tehsil at nearly 25,000 maunds 

 (2,000,000tbs, reckoning the maund at 80 lbs.] In two tehsils the smallest 

 mesh of the nets employed is given at quarter of an inch ; in the remain- 

 ing one at the size of a grain of barley. Fish are extensively trapped in 

 the rice-fields in all the three districts. The modes already alluded to 

 in the other divisions are in existence in this, and poisoning of the water 

 is stated to occur in two of the tehsils. 



266. In the Upper Godaveri District, the Tehsildar of Siro?ic/ia 



reports 4,241 fishermen, but few indeed of 

 Upper Godaveri District. thig number perhaps 200, are solely depend- 

 Opinion of the Tehsiklar. , ,, , \ ■ n n J t> ,• ,., n 



ant on the taking or fish tor a livelihood ; 



their castes are Dhimar, Gollawal, Orawal, Bestwal, and Benarwal. Fish 

 are only bartered ; 97 per cent, of the people would eat it could they 

 procure it. A decrease in the number of the tank-produced fish is be- 

 lieved to have occurred since the district has formed a portion of the 

 British territory. Previously, the people were prevented from killing 

 fish in tanks, unless they paid some fees or share of fish to the 

 local Talukdar. The quantity in the rivers is not known to have 

 decreased, but if the nallas are completely swept of them, it is most 

 certain that the amount in the rivers will likewise fall off, and therefore 

 it is thought that there must be a decrease. Large, quantities of fry are 

 destroyed in the rains ; the meshes of the nets are about a quarter of an 

 inch in width. There are no irrigated fields, except from wells, in this 

 district, but fish are trapped. 



