NEW LEARNET EDUCATION
Chapter 1 – The Story of Village Palampur (Handwritten Solutions)
Exercises Page No 14
1. Every village in India is surveyed once in ten years during the Census and some of the details are presented in the following format. Fill up the following based on information on Palampur.
- LOCATION:
- TOTAL AREA OF THE VILLAGE:
- LAND USE (in hectares):
| Cultivated Land | Land not available for cultivation (Area covering dwellings, roads, ponds, grazing ground) | |
| Irrigated | Unirrigated | |
| 26 hectares | ||
d) FACILITIES:
| Educational | |
| Medical | |
| Market | |
| Electricity Supply | |
| Communication | |
| Nearest Town |
Answer:
- LOCATION: Bulandshahr District, Western Uttar Pradesh
- TOTAL AREA OF THE VILLAGE: 226 hectares
- LAND USE (in hectares):
| Cultivated Land | Land not available for cultivation (Area covering dwellings, roads, ponds, grazing ground) | |
| Irrigated | Unirrigated | |
| 200 hectares | — | 26 hectares |
- FACILITIES:
| Educational | 1 high school, 2 primary schools |
| Medical | 1 private dispensary, 1 primary health care centre run by the Government |
| Market | 2 markets: Raiganj and Shahpur |
| Electricity Supply | Most of the houses have electricity connections. Electricity powers all the tubewells in the fields and is used for various small business. |
| Communication | Well connected neighbouring villages, with Raiganj within 3 kms. Proper transportation including bullock carts, tongas, bogeys carrying jaggery. Also, motor vehicles like motorcycles, jeep, tractors and trucks are available for easy transportation. |
| Nearest Town | Shahpur |
2. Modern farming methods require more inputs which are manufactured in industry. Do you agree?
Answer:
Yes, it is correct to say that modern farming methods require more inputs which are manufactured in the industry. It is because modern farming methods use a high-yielding variety of seeds. These seeds require both chemical fertilisers and pesticides, agricultural implementations like tractors and proper irrigation facilities like electric tube wells and all these elements are manufactured in industries. However, on the other hand, traditional farming methods use a relatively low-yielding variety of seeds and use cow dung and other natural manures as fertiliser, which is why they are less dependent on industrial outputs.
3. How did the spread of electricity help farmers in Palampur?
Answer:
The spread of electricity helped the farmers of Palampur as it helped in the transformation of the irrigation system of the village. The farmers earlier used Persian wheels to draw water from wells and irrigate small fields. But after the spread of electricity, electric tube wells replaced these Persian wheels. The first tube well was installed by the Government, but later private tube wells were also settled by the farmers, resulting in the cultivation of the entire 200 hectares of irrigated land by the 1970s.
4. Is it important to increase the area under irrigation? Why?
Answer:
It is important to increase the land under irrigation because farming is the main source of income for the maximum part of the population in India and only less than 40 per cent of the land is cultivable in the country. Farmers are dependent on the erratic monsoon season, and if the rainfall is less, farmers are bound to suffer a major loss. So if the water is provided for irrigation to the farmers for a larger portion of land, it would give better output and make more land cultivable in India and also encourage farmers to take up newer farming methods without the fear of suffering loss.
5. Construct a table on the distribution of land among the 450 families of Palampur.
Answer:
The distribution of land among the 450 families of Palampur is as given below:
| Area of land Cultivated | Number of Families |
| 0 | 150 |
| Less than 2 hectares | 240 |
| More than 2 hectares | 60 |
6. Why are the wages for farm labourers in Palampur less than minimum wages?
Answer:
There are many landless farm labourers who are paid less than the minimum wages in Palampur. The Government declared wage for a farm labourer is Rs.300 per day, but the competition for work among the farm labourers is very high, which is why people agree to work for lower wages.
7. In your region, talk to two labourers. Choose either farm labourers or labourers working at construction sites. What wages do they get? Are they paid in cash or kind? Do they get work regularly? Are they in debt?
Answer:
Students must perform this activity themselves and answer the question based on their survey.
8. What are the different ways of increasing production on the same piece of land? Use examples to explain.
Answer:
To grow more than one crop on a piece of land during the year is known as multiple cropping. It is the most common way of increasing production on a given piece of land. The best example of this is the cultivation in Palampur. In Palampur, jowar and bajra grow during the rainy season, followed by potato between October and December and during the winter season, wheat is sown in the fields. The main reason for this the well-developed system of irrigation.
9. Describe the work of a farmer with 1 hectare of land.
Answer:
A farmer with 1 hectare of land will be called a small farmer. Since the area for cultivation is small, the outcome may also not be high. So in order to be able to yield the land in the best possible way, the farmer needs money. This money is borrowed from a moneylender at a high interest rate and at times may also have to work as a farm labourer for the moneylender. Once the farm is cultivated, the produce has to be divided for personal use and for selling in the market. Whatever profit is earned, the farmer has to usually give it away to the moneylender, and little sum of money is left for the use of the farmer himself. The only help a small farmer gets is that of his family members.
10. How do the medium and large farmers obtain capital for farming? How is it different from the small farmers?
Answer:
Large and medium farmers sell surplus farm products from a part of their produce. A part of the earnings is saved and kept for buying capital for the next season. A few of them give away the savings to small farmers and loans at high interest rates and get back the amount by the next season. Thus, they are able to arrange for the capital for farming from their own savings. Some farmers might also use the savings to buy cattle, trucks, or to set up shops.
11. On what terms did Savita get a loan from Tejpal Singh? Would Savita’s condition be different if she could get a loan from the bank at a low rate of interest?
Answer:
Savita got a loan from Tejpal Singh at the rate of interest of 24 per cent for four months and also had to work for Tejpal Singh as a farm labourer at the wage of Rs.100 per day during the harvest season.
The case would have been different if Savita would have taken the loan from a bank. It is because the rate of interest would have been lesser than what was asked by Tejpal Singh and also she would have been able to pay complete attention to our own field during the time of harvest.
12. Talk to some old residents in your region and write a short report on the changes in irrigation and changes in production methods during the last 30 years.
Answer: Students must do this question based on their own observation.
13. What are the non-farm production activities taking place in your region? Make a short list.
Answer:
The non-farm production activities taking place in our region are:
- Dairy
- Transportation
- General Stores
- Fishing
- Mining
14. What can be done so that more non-farm production activities can be started in villages?
Answer:
To promote more non-farm production activities in villages the following steps can be taken:
- Loans must be available for people at lower interest rates so that they can start up the non-farm activities.
- Proper markets should be set up so that the produced goods can be sold.
- The concerned authorities must set up better transportation between cities and villages so that the produced goods can be transported to cities and more money can be earned through the non-farming activities.
 Chapter 1 – The Story of Village Palampur){kind=link}
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