pakistan geographical review 1954 - University of the Punjab

and Kar achi. Before the opening of the railway line and the construction of
the Lansdown Bridge many steamers and boats used to ply on the river and
the town was the chief inland river port for traffic by the Indus Steam Flotilla
and native boats between the Punjab and Sind. After the construction of
bridges, although the river traffic has diminished considerably, the prosperity
and commercial importance of the town still mainly depends upon its river
traffic with the Punjab. Even today, a large number of country crafts are used
for this purpose.
Wheat is the most important commodity which is brought for transaction
in this 'rnandi '. The greater bulk of the crop produced in Upper Sind is
brought to this town either by rail or by road and river. For road and rail
borne traffic Sukkur is the natural market for the Upper part of the lower
Indus Basin as it is connected by metalled roads with Larkaaa , the Upper
Sind and the Sukkur Districts. For this reason most of the crops harvested
in the Sukkur and Upper Sind districts are stored first at Sukkur and then
transported by rail to other parts.
Besides the agricultural products, 'deodar' woodis an imported commodity
which is floated down the river in great bulk from the Punjab. A considerable
quantity of it is consumed locally.
INDUSTRIES
Little can be said about the industrial aspect of the town in the past
except that only cottage industries were established at that time. The common
indispensible artisans found in the town were the black-smiths, shoe makers,
carpenters, jewellers, weavers and potters. The skilled carpenters, weavers and
jewellers turned out excellent articles for practical use. There were, and still
are, workers in fine arts for which Sind has been noted for a long period. The
woollen and silken goods are worth mentioning. Even today cottage work is
being carried on in several parts of the town. Hand loom cloth, rope, shoes,
wooden articles and jewellery are products which are worth noting.
For the first time in the industrial history of this town, in the year
1890-1 the Central Government of India set up a railway work-shop at Sukkur,
which provided jobs for about 500 people. In the year 1906, a small scale
cotton ginning factory was set up and in the year 1911-12 a flour mill was
located at Sukkur, which could employ about 70 persons. In the year 1915,
a set of rice husking hullers and an ice plant were opened in the town. In the
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