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 CHAPTER VII.

MEANS OF COMMUNICATION. CHAP. VII.

Roads. Their extension. Their condition and management. Roads— Their extension- Their condition and management— Tolls— Ferries — Bridges. River N'avig.tion. Railvt.ats — The South Indian Railway — Proposed railway extension. Accommodation iOE Tkavellerb — Bungalows — Choultries.

As elsewhere, a great extension of the roads of the district took place during the latter half of the last century. The report on the Settlement of 1864 says ' With the exception of a few miles in Udaiyarpalaiyam, trunk road No. 8 is the only made road in the dry taluks of TrichinopolT. The tracks leading from village to village are hardly passable in dry weather for a wheeled conveyance, and a heavy shower of rain will put a stop to all traffic for days together. Advantage is frequently taken of the beds of nullahs and water-courses as affording a harder surface than the black soil on either side. But the greater part of the grain and the merchandise is transported on pack bullocks.'

Much has been done since those days, and at present the district is traversed from north to south by a main road, and the other roads in the district are fairly numerous and tolerably good. The most important of the main lines are those running from Trichinopoly to Madras through Perambalur ; to Salem through Musiri and Naraakkal ; to Attiir through Turaiyur ; to Mannar- gudi through Udaiyarpalaiyam ; to Erode by way of Karur ; and to Madura and Diudigul. The road from Manapparai through Musiri and Turaiy6r is another important line. These are all in the charge of the District Board.

As in other districts, nearly all the roads are in charge of the local boards. The condition of the roads is generally fair but in the north of the district some sections of oven the trunk roads are still only gravelled, and not metalled, and (as noted below) the want of adequate bridging is much felt. Moreover the absence of wells or other means of water-supply at the side of the roads renders it impossible to repair them except in the rainy season ; the result being that the work has then to be hurried. The quarries are not very conveniently placed ; and the metal obtained from them is good in only a few cases, more often varying between moderate and indifferent. 'I'he annual expenditure on