Canals
by Peter J. Sumner
The "Industrial Revolution" is being quoted more and more frequently by our politicians, so I couldn't help remembering The Industrial Revolution as occurred in Britain. I am of course referring to my history lessons - I'm not that old! The Encyclopedia Britannica describes it as a 'Process of change' that occurred in England between 1760 and 1830, followed by other countries at later dates.
Since Pakistan was under British India, one must ponder why the revolution didn't occur here. But it did! The railway system is one example, although coming rather late, of the improvements in transportation and communications. The reason why we don't normally associate an Industrial Revolution with Pakistan is because it wasn't widespread nor in any sense complete. What is noticeably absent besides our railway lines are canals.
Canals are very much present in Pakistan, you say! Yes and no. Looking back to the English Industrial Revolution, the canal was primarily a navigable waterway used for the purpose of carrying cargo by boats. Today, the commercial use of canals in England is largely finished, although they still exist for pleasure boat owners and fishermen. Since they are virtually unknown in Pakistan, I thought you might like some details.
England is full of local dialects, and in many, the canal is known as 'the cut'. Sometimes, the earth was dug out, whereas in other places, earth would be piled up to make the banks, much the same as is done in Pakistan. The main difference is that there is no incline that would make the water flow with any speed. Where a difference in land level occurs, a lock is provided, that is, a set of gates at either end of a chamber that can be flooded or drained, carrying a boat up or down between the levels. The canals vary considerably in width and depth along their length as it is obvious that where the land didn't need to be dug out, it wasn't! This lazy attitude is contrasted in other areas by feats of engineering that surely were quite impressive at the time. Tunnels of great length and aquaducts are quite common features. Also, bridges of various designs were provided across the canal, that could all be opened and closed by the strength of a single man.
As the canal generally had little or no variation in height for long distances, it was natural for the railways that came later to follow the canal. The railway line is somewhat straighter than the route of the canal at times, but both can be seen side by side for many miles at a time.
A community formed along the canals, some consisting of waterway workers such as lock-keepers, and others providing hotels or inns. In addition, the boat owners and their families were the 'mobile' part of this community. The railway later added to this community with stations being built at road/canal junctions.
Although the water in the canals did not visibly appear to flow, it certainly wasn't stagnant! There was a constant flow through the various sections of the canal which was carefully managed by the waterway staff. As a result, the canals contained clean aerated water which supported a large fish population. Even today, with many of the canals fallen into disuse, the water remains clean.
The important feature of English canals are the boats. They have many names but are generally called narrowboats. Sixty feet long or more and less than seven feet wide! These incredible boats could carry at least sixty tons of cargo such as coal, yet needed just a few inches depth of water. It was common practice to operate a pair of such boats, but sometimes four were strung together. Thus, 240 tons of coal could be hauled by a single horse if necessary. You might ask, how did they traverse tunnels? A man lying down on top of the 'cabin' used his feet to 'walk' along the tunnel roof!
By now you must have realized the economic advantage of the canals. Even after horses were replaced by small single cylinder engines, there was a distinct advantage over trucks for carrying heavy loads. Today in Britain, the maximum load of a truck is forty tons. Perhaps, if it comes to extracting coal from Thar, a canal in Pakistan would be feasible.
As an exercise, look up "Grand Canal" in an encyclopedia and see what the Chinese did.