COST OF CANALS 



163 



Canals irrigate a tract of country which was particu- 

 larly exposed in the early years of the nineteenth 

 century to devastating famines. In the Northern 

 Doab, which we now look upon as a securely pros- 

 perous tract, no less than eleven famines occurred in 

 the period between 1800 and 1850. Of these, three 

 (1803, 1819, 1837) were widespread calamities, which 

 devastated large areas, and the remaining eight occa- 

 sioned acute misery in particular districts. The Doab 

 was indeed looked upon as a particularly precarious 

 tract of country before the capital invested in irriga- 

 tion had protected it against the chances of the 

 season. 



The following tabular statement shows the financial 

 results of the four large canals of the productive class, 

 based on the average of the six years ending 1900-01. 

 The figures given for the Lower Ganges Canal do 

 not include those for the recently opened Fatehpur 

 branch. 



AVERAGE OF SIX YEARS, 1895-96 TO 1900-01. 



The financial results of these productive works are 

 thus seen to be highly satisfactory. These four canals 

 yield an annual net revenue of 58 lakhs (£2)^6,666 



II — 2 



