Page:The Imperial Gazetteer of India - Volume 10 (2nd edition).pdf/212



200 NAR--NARA, EASTERN 47 Distant from Verkara 15 miles. Population (1881) 896. Anglo-vernacular school, with 55 pupils in 1882. Two roads lead to Merkára, one m'a Nurnád, the other i'll Bottakeri Nar.–Town in the Petlád Sub-division of Baroda State, Bombay Presidency. Lat. 22° 28' N., long. 72° 45' E. Population (1881) 7328. School and two dharmsálás. Nára, Eastern.-An important water channel in Sind, Bombay Presidency; rising, as believed by some, in the floods of Bahá malpur State, and running southward successively through the Rohri Sub-division of Shikárpur District, Khairpur State, and the Thar and Párkar District. The main source of supply of the Eastern Nára is still undetermined. The first well-defined head occurs at Khári, near the town of Rohri, whence the stream runs almost due south through Khairpur, afterwards entering the Thar and Párkar District, where the channel is in some places broad, and in others scarcely perceptible. At Nawakot it divides into two channels, the larger proceeding in a south-easterly direction to Wango-jo-got, where it meets the Púran ; the other skirting the foot of the Thar, and joining the Púran below Wango Bázár. In the valley of the Eastern Nára there are about 400 lakes, and there is good reason for believing that this canal was in former years entirely fed by the floods of the Indus. Lieutenant Fife, in his Report of 1852, states that the stoppage of the water-supply of the stream, which was attributed to a dyke put across the Nára in Upper Sind, had in reality arisen from natural causes, the quantity in some years being so excessive, and in others so deficient as to prevent cultivation Acting upon his advice, Government constructed a supply channel from the Indus near Rohri; and, later on, excavations were made in the bed of the Nára so as to facilitate the flow of the water southwards. Further improvements were cffected by erecting a series of embankments on the right side, to arrest the overflow. The principal canals in connection with the Eastern Nára are the Mithráu (123 miles long, inclusive of branches), the Thar (44 miles), and the Dimwá (15 miles). The returns furnished for the first cdition of this work showed that the aggregate cost of these works up to the end of 1873–74 amounted to £274,749; the receipts in the same year were £236,727, and the total charges (exclusive of interest), £66,094. The gross income was thus 84 per cent. on the capital expended, and the net receipts 60 per cent. The area irrigated was 124,793 acres. The cost of the entire works when completed is estimated at £1,063,827, and the net revenue at £66,533. At the close of 1882-S3, it was reported that the protective embankments were advanced, and the land was recovering from the floods of past years. The works would now begin to show a gradual but steady increase up to their full capabilities. The supply channel would be