Page:Indian Journal of Economics Volume 2.djvu/670

6? K. V. RAiV?ASWAMI* AZYAZ7(?AR of the Industrial Commission, ((]hapte ! VI), ?re only with reference to fuel as a source of power for in- dus?risl purposes. ?he progress in Undoubtedly, in the future, India's industrial development, wi?h ?is aspect of the fuel question will clamour for increased attention. However, in India, at present and in the future as well, fuel will not only be synonyms power but must imply, itself. Throughout India, the with to the ordinary Indian f?/e biggest in the fuel, mainly wood fuel, is for domestic And it must continue so. 1%r in con- single item demand for consumption. sidering such consumption., we have to bear in mind an important circumstance, vi?., that the people in India are very slow to move readily, or possibly cannot, more efficient substitutes for coal and coke for domestic confined to the neighborhood bulk of the and will not adapt themselves to use wood-fuel. The use of purposes is at present of the colliery areas-- over the country on account of the prohibitively prices st which alone firewood could have then which are n&?urslly sparsely di?culties to transport, about acute suffering all high been sold. This would be main item in the price o! is cost of carriage. (See fuel working charges in clear if we remember that the all fuel (including the appended note M&dras). oo) on The bulkiness of firewood as well as the absence o! cheap waterways For lustsrace, Casusrins fuel would have been nmdh in Madras, but for tim oon ?n?..lon of the oi? it il?m? In Nellore distrier by the Buokinghsm Omud. hi?s? tn priom tbtm with the Gsstuwius mainly in hilly tracts, populated and present grea? would have already brought e.g., West Bengal and Oslcutta, and the consumption of charcoal, mineral oil and alcohol is restricted to s very small portion of the urbsu population. Were the forest areas our only sources of firewood supplies, their unequal distribution, coupled with their location