The spread of Railways from the 1850s created which new demands on the Indian forests and how were they met? Explain.
Answer:
Answer to be written in the exam:
-
Railways were
essential for Colonial Trade and for the movement of Imperial Troops.
To run locomotives,
wood was needed as fuel
, and to lay. Railway line sleepers were essential to hold the tracks together.
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Each mile of the
Railway track required between 1,760 and 2,000 sleepers.
From the 1860s, the Railway Network expanded rapidly. By 1890, about 25,500 km. of track had been laid.
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In 1946, the
length of the tracks had increased to over 765,000 km
. As the Railway tracks spread through India, a larger and larger number of trees were being cut annually.
- As early as the 1850s, in the Madras Presidency alone, 35,000 trees were being cut annually for sleepers . The Government gave out contracts to individuals to supply the required quantities. These contractors began cutting trees indiscriminately.
