Thirty-nine miles in length, constructed at the cost of £570,000 and finished in the year 1902, it waters an area of 62,000 acres and returns annually 6 per cent, on the capital outlay.
The Shwebo canal, which draws its supplies from the Mu river, has converted 170,000 acres of Shwebo from dry desert to fertile rice fields. It cost £600,000, and its annual return is 8.3 per cent. The Ye-u canal is under construction on the right bank of the Mu and was partly opened in 1918–19. It will irrigate 109,000 acres at the cost of £572,300.
In Minbu the Môn, Man, and Salin canals have been completed, with much difficulty, at the cost of £566,800, and have brought under cultivation some 60,000 acres. Most, if not all, of these projects are based on old native works, vastly improved.
The total area irrigated from major canals in 1920–21 was 329,000 acres producing crops estimated in value at £1,275,000.
Many minor irrigation works have been adapted from Burmese originals. Of these, the most important is the network of canals in Kyauksè by which almost the whole district is watered. It has not been found practicable to utilize the Irrawaddy or the Chindwin for irrigation on a large scale.
Formerly the dry districts of Upper Burma were subject to recurring seasons of scarcity. In Shwebo, for instance, in about one year in three, the rains failed and the able-bodied population migrated for field work to the rich plains of Lower Burma, sending due part of their earnings for the support of their families left behind. But the Burman clings to his home and back went the migrants after harvest, hoping for a better season next year. Now, in most of the arid tracts, irrigation, extension of dry cultivation, and improved communications have dispelled fear of famine.
