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Imperial Gazetteer of India, v. 8, p. 265.

BOLAN PASS 265 Mach and Kirta. The total population in 1go1 was 1,936. The Kuchiks, a section of the Rind Baloch numbering 326, are the culti- vating proprietors of the soil. The total area of cultivable land is 3,3oo acres, about one-third of which is generally cropped each year. Most of the cultivation is at Kirta, which is irrigated from the perma nent stream of the Bolân. The water and land are divided for each crop according to the number of adult males among the Kuchiks. The principal crop is wheat; some jowdr also is cultivated in the summer. Thin seams of coal in the Ghâzij strata near Old Mach are worked by a private firm. The output in 1903 amounted to 3,259 tons. In the spring of 1889 a boring for petroleum was put down near Kirta, and a show of oil was struck at 36o feet, but the boring was abandoned owing to an influx of hot sulphurous water. Good sulphur has also been discovered. No trade of importance exists. The Mushkâf--Bolân branch of the North-Western Railway enters the District at Nâri Bank station ; and a road traverses the pass connecting Sibi with Quetta, which is metalled and bridged between Rindli and Quetta. The District, which is officially known as the Bolan Pass and Nushki Railway District, forms part of the Agency Territories. Besides the pass and the civil station of Rindli, it includes jurisdiction over the road and railway from the Nâri river to a point within about 13 miles of Quetta, and over the portion of the Nushki Railway lying in Kalat. The Political Agent, Kalat, holds executive charge and has the powers of a District and Sessions Judge. The Assistant Political. Agent, Kalat, and the Native Assistant for the Sarawan country also have jurisdiction. The official in immediate charge of the pass is a tahsďlddr, posted at Mach, who exercises civil and criminal powers. In 1903 the number of cognizable cases reported was 15, in 7 of which convictions were obtained. The number of criminal cases was 45, and of civil cases 182. Land revenue at the rate of one-tenth of the produce was first levied in i8gi, but the rate has since been raised to one-sixth. The land revenue in 1903-4 yielded Rs. 4,7oo, and the total revenue of the District from all sources was Rs. 9, 500- A small sum is raised by a conservancy cess in the Mach bazar, and is spent on sanitation. In 1903-4 the receipts amounted to Rs. 1,roo, and the expenditure to Rs. goo. The sanctioned strength of the levy force is 208 men, of whom 113 are employed in the pass., the remainder being detailed with the Political Agent, Kalât, and elsewhere. The police force, which numbers 39 men under two deputy-inspectors, is posted at eight railway stations and forms part of the Quetta-Pishin police. No schools have been established. About 27 pupils receive instruction in mosques. A dispensary, maintained at Mach by the North-Western Railway, affords medical aid to the civil population. It has accommodation for