Tarai
This article has been extracted from THE IMPERIAL GAZETTEER OF INDIA , 1908. OXFORD, AT THE CLARENDON PRESS. |
Note: National, provincial and district boundaries have changed considerably since 1908. Typically, old states, ‘divisions’ and districts have been broken into smaller units, and many tahsils upgraded to districts. Some units have since been renamed. Therefore, this article is being posted mainly for its historical value.
Tarai
Southern portion of Naini Tal District, United Provinces, comprising the parganas of Bazpur, Gadarpur, Kichha, Kilpuri, Nanak- mata, and Bilherl, and lying between 28° 45' and 29° 26' N. and 78° 5' and 80 degree 5' E., with an area of 776 square miles. Population fell from 137,396 in 1891 to 118,422 in 1901. There are 404 villages, but no town. The demand for land revenue in 1903-4 was Rs. 70,000, and for cesses Rs. 1,700. The density of population, 153 persons per square mile, is lower than in the adjacent tracts to the south. The Tarai is a damp malarious region which can be safely inhabited only for certain parts of the year, except by the Tharus and Boksas. The drainage of the Outer Himalayas, after sinking to an unknown depth in the boulder-beds of the Bhabar, reappears here in a line of springs which gradually form into small streams, from which canals are drawn. Rice is the great staple of cultivation. In 1903-4 the area under cultivation was 195 square miles, of which 38 were irrigated, chiefly from canals. Most of the Tarai is managed as a Government estate, and the rents amount to about 2.5 lakhs in addition to the revenue stated above.
