150 THE BRITISH EMPIRE: — INDIA AND DEPENDENCIES
The number of vessels which entered with cargoes in the interportal trade was in 1916-17, 91,273 of 8,045,742 tons ; in 1917-18, 91,991 of 6,366,966 tons ; in 1918-19, 93,150 of 7,616,676 tons ; in 1919-20, 89,251 of 9,045,672 tons ; and cleared in 1916-17, 74,642 of 7,986,587 tons; in 1917-18, 74,973 of 6,227,984 tons ; in 1913-19, 78,890 of 6,598,618 tons ; m 1919-20, 72,704 of 9,374,816 tons.
The number and tonnage of vessels built or first registered at Indian ports for five years : —
1916-17
1913-14 (Pre-war)
Vo.\ Tou - No. Ton - nage " nage
1917-18
1918-19
v „ Ton- w Ton- ~ Ton- • nage *»• nage ^ nage
1919-20
Built Registered
141 I 5,311
212 122,283
102 7,120 142 209 24,009! 296
11,808 16,872
341;sc,,264l 200 121,013 339 39,550! 300 130,990
Internal Communications. I. Roads. The following table shows approximately the length in miles of roads maintained by public authorities throughout the country : —
Province
Metalled Miles
Unmetalled Miles 31,677-83
Total Miles
Bengal. . . (1918-1919) J
3,117-87
34,795-70
Assam . . „
527-00
S.462-54
8,98954
Bihar and Orissa ,,
3,137-00
15, 879-00
19,01600
United Provs. . ,, j
7.354-8S
20,799-76
34,154 64
Punjab . . ,,
2,905 59
22,06:! -80
24,969 39
Burma. . . ,,
1,972-22
10,569-65
12,541-87
Central Provs. arid Berar,,
8,894 00
4,099-00
7,'.<93-00
Madras . . ,,
21,604-75
5,342-20
g«,916*96
Bombay . . ,,
8,054-84
19.465-53
27,620-87
N.W F. Prov. . „
873-17
2,702-49
3,575-661
Coorg . . ,,
235-75
186 37
422 12
Riijimtana . „
307-00
323-00
680-00
Baluchistan . ,,
<»75-79
34399
1,3)9-78?
Military works . (19Ui-1917)
1,409*44
997-16
2.44s 60
1 Includes 2,197-31 miles of road maintained by local authorities, but it is not known whether they are metalled or unmetalled ; but excludes 130-75 miles of serviceable fair- weather roads, and 071-43 miles of bridle paths.
2 Exclusive of 188 25 miles of serviceable fair-weather and temporary roads 1,598-00 miles of bridle paths.
In several provinces certain of the large canals which are primarily in- tended for irrigation are also used for navigation by country boats and barges of shallow draught. The length of navigable channel in the several province* is : — Madras, 1,318 miles ; United Provinces, 412 miles : Punjab, 259 miles ; Bengal, 590 miles ; Bihar and Orissa, 519 miles ; Burma, 91 miles.
An estimate has reeentlv been sanctioned for the proposed Grand Trunk Canal in Bengal, which will form a very important addition to the navigable waterways of the Province. The canal will be 22 miies in length, and will con- nect the Hooghly River at Calcutta with the navigable rivers o I Eastern Bengal.
Inland steamer navigation is almost exclusively confined to Burma and to the Uanges- Brahmaputra- Megna group of waterwavs, which connect Bengal with Bihar and Orissa on the one side, and with Assam on the other.
A limited number of vessels ply on the Indus River, but this will probably cease when the large irrigation canals in the Punjab and Sind, at
present under investigation, are constructed.