CXXV1 



EAJPUTANA. 



267. The Secretary to the Governor General's Agent in Majputana 



forwarded two letters, with enclosures, from the 

 Rajpntana. Opinion of the Commissioner of Ajmir, who observes that there 



Commissioner ot Ajmir. • i , • i • t , • , i , „ 



are no perennial streams in his district, but four 

 perennial tanks or lakes, viz., Anasagur Lake, in which the supply of fish 

 is most inadequate, and some of the better descriptions, as the Rohoo, 

 Cirrhinarohita, are not found; the Pushkar, a holy lake, where neither 

 the lives of fish or crocodiles can be taken, though probably there would 

 be no objection to the eggs of the latter being destroyed ; the Ramsur, 

 where the fish supply is good, provided water exists, but this was so 

 deficient last year that it only contained a cupful] ; lastly, the Nearan, 

 which, when full, has a fair amount of fish ; however, it was quite dry 

 in 1871. Sometimes there is a fifth at Bhir. The rivers Bunas and 

 Khari are perennial streams, which, whilst passing through the British 

 territory, contain no fish. 



268. The Deputy Commissioner of Ajmir reports that water only 



exists in the streams in his district for a 



sione^ofVmi?^^ C ° mmiS " feW ^ du ™S the . rain -7 SeaSOn > and thafc 



they do not contain edible fish. " The 



Khari Nuddi, and Bunas on our borders, are the only streams in which 

 fish could be bred and preserved, but the localities are not in our district, 

 but in (I believe) the Jaipur State." The fishing in the Ramsur and 

 Nearan tanks are generally leased out, as water is usually present all the 

 year round, and a fair supply of fish is afforded to the cantonment of 

 Nusirabad. " This year the lease has been taken up by a banker of 

 Ajmir w T ith the avowed purpose of preventing the catching of fish." 

 This preservative process, it is suggested, will bring up the supply again 

 after the loss sustained by the late drought, whereby the Nearan tank 

 became quite dry, and that at Ramsur had only about a cup full of 

 water left in it. He observes that " were we to be provided with reservoirs 

 holding water all the year round, it would be a great boon to have them 

 stocked with good edible fish, and they could be readily preserved. Till 

 such time as we have reservoirs of this kind, it will be useless to attempt 

 to preserve fish in the district." Crocodiles are only found in the Ana- 

 sagur tank (except the sacred Pushkur one), and their destruction he 

 considers perfectly feasible at a small expense ; if sanctioned, they could 

 be killed by Shikaris, and rewards offered for their eggs. 



