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BANKING TRADE AND COMMERCE
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WEEKLY MARKETS
The Wardha District Gazetteer of 1906 gives an account of the important weekly markets in the district which is quoted below. " The most important weekly markets are those of Wardha, Deoli, Sindi, Selu, Anji, Waiphal, Nachangaon and Andori in the Wardha tahsil; of Samudrapur, Hinganghat, Alipur, Wadner, Pohna, Khangaon, Mandgaon, Girar and Wasi in the Hinganghat tahsil; and of Arvi, Ashti, Karanja, Rasulabad, Wadhona, Kharangna, and Rohna in the Arvi tahsil. Of these, Deoli, Wardha, Selu and Anji in Wardha tahsil; Samudrapur in Hinganghat tahsil and Rohna in Arvi tahsil are cattle markets. A registration fee on the sales of cattle is charged at Wardha, Deoli and Arvi. Deoli is the largest cattle market in the District and some hundreds of cattle are brought here every week for sale. The average annual sales during the four years up to 1905 have been about 4,600 head and the total amount realised Rs. 1.40 lakhs. The cattle market next in importance to Deoli is that of Samudrapur, but no registration fees are charged here. Statistics maintained by the local police shows that between 3,000
and 4,000 head of cattle are sold annually at about Rs. 13 a head, this figure including calves. About 1,000 head of cattle and small stock are brought for sale weekly as well as 300 cart-loads of grain, timber, oilseeds and bamboos. The attendance in the fair weather months is from 7,000 to 10,000 persons. At Arvi some 3,500 head of cattle are sold annually, the total realisations being Rs. 55,000 and at Wardha 1,350 head for Rs. 21,000. These markets are also the leading ones for the sale of ordinary produce. Cotton is not sold in the weekly markets but is brought direct to Wardha or Hinganghat and sold in the cotton exchange or ganj which is permanently open during the busy season. A road tax and market dues are levied on carts bringing cotton or grain into the towns. Small transactions are conducted through professional dalals or brokers who pay a licence fee to the municipality. Large landowners sell their cotton direct to the mills or exporting agents but they have to pay the town taxes. Mahars act as petty dealers and go round and buy up small quantities of cotton from tenants who have it to dispose of, and having got together a cartload bring it to the town. People of other castes who are generally termed Beparis ply the same trade with grain. But if the tenant is dissatisfied with the price offered, he himself brings his grain or cotton to the market town. Market dues are also levied at Nachangaon, Sindi, Ashti, Alipur, Girar and Pohna, and the sums realised are expended on village sanitation. In all these villages considerable quantities of grain and timber are sold, and Marwari or Cutchi dealers have taken up their residence in them." [Central Provinces District Gazetteers. Wardha District, Vol. A. 1906, pp. 147-49.]
The importance of the weekly markets as centres of trade has declined during the last few decades. The marketing of agricultural produce has become more and more organised, the transactions taking place at the regulated markets. Weekly markets account for the retail transactions of the daily needs of the people and especially those in the rural areas.
The Directory of Villages and Towns given at the end of this Volume gives the names of villages and towns where the weekly markets are held.
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