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villages apply for loans because of disasterous harvest; migration to Diger area to avoid North Cachar taxes and coolie work; lessening of opium usage due to poverty |
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Through old Hajong, and Langao to Duirangi. All these village applied for loans. There has been practically no harvest this year. Old Hajong is a hamlet of 6 houses. There is no 20 house rule here as in some districts, but Mr. Barnes and other officers appear to have passed orders which are not known to me and of which no notice is taken at all. An order book for the Diger Mauza is badly needed and orders are required as to the boundaries of the Mauza, the treatment of immigrant Kukis from the Henima Mauza who come down here to escape what work there is on the Henima bridle path and the treatment of immigrant Kachari from the North Cachar Hills. The story is everywhere the same, and is frankly admitted by these immigrants. They say that House tax is Rs.3/- in the North Cachar Hills but only Rs. 2/- in the Diger Mauza and that above all there is no coolie work in Diger. The Deputy Commissioner, Naga Hills, is reported to be a very Thanda Officer, the reason being of course that the population in Diger is too far away to impress and that many of the villagers are Kania and therefore useless. The result is that the North Cachar Hills villages score by immigrating to Diger. |
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The opium eating seems to be getting better instead of worse on the whole, and hard times are partly responsible. The arrangement here is that the Mauzadar has a ration of 7 seers a month which he has to go to Haflong to get and which he is allowed to retail at Rs. 1/2/6 per Tola to habitual opium eaters. He says that he is often unpopular because he cannot sell as much opium as the consumer would like to buy, but on the other hand many who used to buy 8 annas worth at a time now make 4 annas worth do and so forth, mostly he thinks through poverty and through the difficulty of getting more. He, however, says that his profit is so small that he has a heavy loss due to his journeys to Haflong and back. I have therefore allowed him to raise the price to Rs. 1/4/- per tola. The minimum fixed by the Commissioner was Rs. 1/2/- and no maximum was fixed by him. |
