( 110A ) 



Advantages of 

 ravine reclama- 

 tion work, for 

 famine relief 



The ditches act as silt and water traps, and the mounds as 

 efficient seed beds. Petty irregularities in the surface are at the 

 same time eased off as far as possible, pinnacles of earth knocked 

 down, knife-e'Jged ridges flattened, runnels eroded by rivulets 

 smoothed off, and so on. &11 this surface working, bandhing, and 

 ditching, etc., has a striking effect on the catchment of the rain- 

 fall. For whereas in untreated areas (as already mentioned) the 

 maximum penetration is only 10'', in worked areas the soil after 

 a year shows moisture down to 3', and after two or three years 

 when vegetation has been established the water penetration 

 increases up to 7'. After two years, practically no water escapes 

 the lowest ban<ihs. 



This brief note will suffice to indicate the principles of working 

 as far as famine labour would be concerned, the subsequent sowing 

 and tending is done in the rains when famine relief work ceases. 



4. There are peveral factors in this ravine reclamation work 

 which make it a very suitable form of famine relief- These may 

 be briefly indicated 



I. The variety of work affords employment for every descrip- 

 tion of unskilled labour; for men, digging and cliff-break- 

 ing ; for women, ridging and carrying earth ; for the old 

 and feeble and for quite small children, clod-breaking oa 

 the bandhs and ridges. (The details of organization 

 and classification of gangs are given in the next chapter.) 

 II. It is a form of work which (unlike other relief works 

 such as roads or buildings or tanks) can be started or 

 stopped at any time, without rendering useless the work 

 previously done. 



III. It will in time prove directly remunerative, besides 



affording a permanent improved fuel and fodder-supply 

 to the neighbourhood. 



IV. It is singularly well adapted to small civil works, 



scattered about in the vicinity of the famine-stricken 

 villages. In fact, labour should be definitely limited to 

 a maximum of 800 to 1,000 on any one work, as larger 

 numbers are difficult to control. 



V. The gangs of 30 to 50 work more or less separately and 

 the work is always moving on to new ground. This is 

 a favourable factor for sanitation and prevention of 

 cholera or other infectious diseases. 



VI. Eeclamation work is peculiarly flexible and elastic, and 

 a scheme of work prepared before the famine starts can 

 be easily and quickly adapted or added to or altered to 

 meet altering conditions of labour-supply. 



