CHAPTER V. 



THE THAR AND PARKAR DISTRICT ; SANGHAR AND KHIPRO 

 TALUQAS ; DIPLO AND MITHI TALUQAS ; AND KARACHI 

 DISTRICT. 



The working the deposits of chmiho in the Thar and Parkar 

 district was stopped by order of the Commissioner in Sind in the 

 year 1902 (letter No. 6.-277, dated April 23rd, "1902, to the Deputy 

 Commissioner of Thar and Parkar). 



All the dhands then worked for chamho proved to be dry in 

 January L919. 



It was necessary therefore to make a complete survey of all the 

 dhands of these tahujas in order to ascertain whether any new 

 dhands which might have contained excessive water in 1902 had 

 become sufficiently concentrated to deposit chmiho. 



Before proceeding to describe the dhands of these taluqas, I 



.,. . , , . ., will briefly relate the circumstances which led 



History of chamho m- * . 



dustry in Thar and to the closing of the industry in Thar and 

 Parkar. Parkar. 



Thar and Parkar had I'm- many years produced chaniho. The 

 industry is mentioned in the first edition of the Sind Gazetteer 

 published in 1S7-1. Pottinger 1 , writing in 1816, states that alkali 

 was one of the main exports from Karachi, and it may be assumed 

 that this alkali came from Thar and Parkar, Nawabshah, and 

 Khairpur. 



The output of Thai' and Parkar from 1893 to 1899 was as fol- 

 lows : - — 



Table XII.— Output of chaniho and phuli from 1893 to 1899 in Thar 



(Did Parkar. 



1893-94 

 189G-97 

 1897-98 

 1898-99 



Kharo cfjaniho. 



FhuU, 



Totals. 



maunds. 

 3,153 



3. HI 



2,800 



800 



m uinds. 



4.133 

 3,200 

 2,700 



maunds. 



7.r>74 

 6,000 



3,500 



1 Pottinger, Lieut. H.. "Travels in Beloochisian and Sinde", p. 344. 

 * Letter of Coniinr. in Sind, No. C.-75 of 1901. 



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