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         CHAPTER  - 8    

                                  MISCELLANEOUS OCCUPATIONS

                In 1971,  the population  of the  district was 14,45,534, of which4,01,413 were workers. A Study of  the  occupational  structure of the working population  reveals the 72,732 persons were engaged in miscellaneous  occupations . The  break-up  is given below according  to  the census report of  1971:

Occupation Number
Industry               20,699
Trade and  Commerce       14,413
Live-Stock, forestry,hunting  Plantations orchards and allied activities   1,579
Transport, storage and communication   4,048
Construction     1,959
Mining and  quarrying                               43
Other services     29,991
Total 72,732

Public  Services                                            

                With the growing  responsibility of the  government  towards planned economic and social development of the  country, employment  opportunities under  the Central and State  Governments at various  levels have increased   considerably. In  addition, The  activities  of the public  corporations and local  bodies have also  greatly  multiplied. An  idea of the number  of the persons employed under  the semi-government  or quasi-government  institutions and  local  bodies may be had  from  the following the  table:

Type of establishment Number of reporting establishments Number of Employees
1972-73 1973-74 1972-73 1973-74
Central Govt. N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A.
State Govt. 69 69 6,954 6,954
Quasi Govt. (Central) 12 15 263 255
Quasi Govt. (State) 2 1 1,047 815
Local Bodies 26 26 5,549 5,432

                Persons in the  above  services fall under the  category of fixed wage earners who  re hard hit by  the rise in the  cost of living .However, the comparative  position of  Central  Government  employees is  much better than of those  under the employment of the State   Government or the  local bodies. Dearness  allowance is paid to all  classes of  such employees at rates  varying  in accordance with  their  salaries and the government  or authority   they  serve  under .  Benefits like  provident fund and free medical treatment are  available to  the government  servants as well as employees of the  local bodies , while pension facilities are extended to  government servants only. Leave rules  have been revised by the  government   to provide greater  relief to the  temporary employees. Other benefits include advances for  the purchase of conveyances and  construction  or repair of  houses. Residential accommodation  at moderate  stipulated rates of  rent is also provided in  government-owned buildings or house  rent allowance is  paid in lieu thereof to  the  employees .Non-practicing allowance is  paid  to certain categories of  the employees of  the  medical and health department holding posts prohibiting  private  practice.                                                                                          

                The  employees are  allowed to  form  their  service associations  or unions under the Societies Registration  Act 18 of 1860, for  their  welfare and for  the protection and  promotion of their service  interests.The State  Government employees in the  district are  members of the State  Employees Joint Council or the  Ministerial  Employees  Association which is affiliated to  the State level body . The  employees of the  local bodies  are members of the  Local Authorities Employees Association and the employees of the State  Road Transport Corpo0ration  are members of the Employees Road Transport Corporation  Joint Council which are both  affiliated to  their apex organizations at the  State level.

                                                LEARNED  PROFESSIONS

Education

                In 1961, the  district  had 2,512 teachers  233 women.With the expansion of educational institutions with the  passage of time, the  number of teachers had  risen to 6,420 in the  year 1974-75,and  the  statement given below shows the numbers of  teachers employed  in  primary and  secondary schools run  by different  agencies in  that year :

Agency Running the Institution No. of Teachers Total
Male Female
Government 35 59 94
Local Bodies 3,573 538 4,111
Private 1,974 241 2,215
Total 5,582 838 6,420

                Since 1964,the  triple benefit scheme has also  been   extended  to the State-sided educational  institutions  run by the local bodies or  under private management bringing the advantages of  contributory provident fund ,compulsory life  insurance and  pension, which  includes family pension, to the teachers. Payment of  salaries to the teachers of the  institutions which receive  grants from the  State Government  are made  through  cheques  signed by the  managers of  the institutions  concerned, and  a nominee of   district inspector  of schools .

                Wards of the teachers are  entitled  to free tuition up  the intermediate classes. Needy and  disabled teachers are provided financial  help from the  national  foundation  for teachers welfare fund  and those suffering  from tuberculosis are  admitted to the Bhowali T. B.Sanatorium where a number of seats are  reserved for teachers.           

                The  teachers of the  higher secondary schools  in the district are members of the Madhayamik Shikshak sangh  and those  of junior high schools and primary schools  are members of the  Prathmik Shikshak Sangh. These association are affiliated to their State-level  apex bodies.  The main aims of  these associations are  to protect and promote the service  interests of  their members.  There is   also  an association  of the teachers of the degree and  l;post-graduate colleges in  the district  . The  teachers of these colleges draw their salaries direct from   the  government  treasury in the  district .

Medicine

                In 1961, there were 71 nurses,781 midwives and  health visitors ,23 nursing attendants , 137 pharmacists,21 vaccinators and  53 sanitary technicians Physicians trained  in the allopathic , ayurvedic  and homeopathic and  other  systems totaled 56,21 ,821 and 43 respectively. The number of dentists was  4. In 1974-75 , the government  hospitals and  dispensaries had 54 doctors,  one hakim , 3homoeopaths, 60 compounders,6 nurses, 62 midwives and 60 dais.

                A branch of  the Indian Medical Association was established in the district in  1951,to  promote and  advance medical and allied services in the different branches of medical  practice to promote medical education and  to maintain the honor and  dignity of  the medical profession. the total numbers on the  rolls  of this association was 17 in 1974-- 75.

Law          

        The  legal profession  attracts  graduates and  a few retired  persons possessing a  degree in law . They have one  or more  moharrirs(clerks) depending   on the  size of their  clientele. The   State Government appoints district    government  counsels  for conducting  criminal,civil and  revenue cases in courts, from among  qualified, legal  practitioners. To assist them a number of lawyers are appointed by  the  government , known as panel lawyers, and special counsels, depending  on the  quantum of work. For the purpose of  cases in the  courts of  magistrates,  lawyers and  other persons with   legal      qualifications are appointed as public  prosecutors.        

        In  recent ,with  the influx of a large  number of new entrants, the  legal profession  has become  highly competitive.Various malpractice's have also crept into it . Nonetheless the  profession  has retained   a high legal

standard.The  very  nature of  the profession  provides ample opportunities to  the lawyers to  maintain  very close touch  with all sections of people. Naturally the lawyers take a very active  active part in all walks of public life in the  district , particularly in the  social educational  and political activities . Generally  the lawyers practices at  the district headquarters as most of  the  case work is dealt  with in the courts located there . A few also  practices at  the  tahsil headquarters where number  of subordinate courts are located.

                In 1961, there were in the district 216 jurymen , 18 judges and magistrates,188 legal practitioners and 10 legal technicians.

        The  lawyers  of  the district who   numbered   300 in 1974-75 , are members of  two  bar associations, the Civil Courts  Bar Association and the Collectorate Bar  Association  at Mainpuri , The  latter having  a branch at Shikohabad  . The   associations  aim at  inculcating a feeling of brotherhood  their members. maintaining  harmonious  relations  between  the bar and the bench, safeguarding civil  liberties  and   enjoyment , and  to provide free legal  assistance to   deserving  persons .

Engineering            

        There are mainly four  branches  of government  engineering  services in the  district , the  public works  , the  irrigation  ,the local self-government  engineering   and the  Hydel. They  all have  their  own divisions  of survey , design and  construction. In 1974-75 the  total  number of engineers in all these branches in  the  district  was 29. The Zila Parishad  and the municipal  boards  of Mainpuri,Shikohabad and Sirsaganj have engineer each under  their employment. Overseers, now  designated as junior engineers, lines,men and draughtsmen also  form part of the  engineering services.

                The  industrial  establishments in the  district  particularly those at  Shikohabad   also  employ graduate  engineers and  diploma  holders,.A number of qualified engineers, architects and  surveyors work privately . The number of  surveyors and architects  was 3 and  7respectively.          

        In 1961, the  number of persons of persons in the  engineering profession was 119 including those employed by government  and 3 surveyors and 7 architects.              

Domestic Servants

                Domestic servants comprise a  fair  proportion of   the workers in the  district  . They  are not  necessarily unskilled  workers  though  they get lower  gages as   compared to  other members of the  labouring  classes. They render  Whole time  as well as  part time  services  in  the  private houses, hotels,  private concerns  or  business . Full time servants  are usually employed by  well-to-do persons. They  are normally paid in cash but remunerating  them  partly in  kind  like providing board, lodging , and garments and  partly in cash  also  in vogue.  They  dwell in rented slums of  out- houses.Generally  there is no security  of job  for them and  they often  change their  place of work .           

        With the changing  times  the workers  under this  category are slowly  becoming more  conscious of  their rights  and  steps are   a foot  to organise  them  into unions and  association with the  objects of  safeguarding  their  interest  and improving  their working  conditions.

                In 1961m in the  district  , there were 700 house keepers, cooks, maid servants and  others doing  related  jobs, of  whom  198 were cooks and cook-bearers, 473 butlers,  bearers and  waiters and 14 nurses,ayahs and maids. The  number of  cleaners, sweepers and watermen was 2,538 of whom 1,342 were  women .

Barbers           

In the  past  barbers or  nais used to   visit   families  either daily or weekly  for  rendering service . But the  practice is dying  out fast and now  to satisfy the  craze for   modern establishments, hair-dressing shops and  saloons have   cropped up Such  saloons  are mostly  confined   to the urban areas and they are  usually manned by  more than one  person, the owner employing   paid  assistants. Some barbers attend to their  customers on roadside  pavements  of busy  thoroughfares, in fairs and  other festive occasions.

        The barbers held  a very  prominent position during ceremonial occasions among the  Hindus. Even now  they , besides carrying their main work of hairdressing , also attend to   their  age-old  traditional duties in rituals and sacraments like birth, naming of     the newly born, babies, yagyopavita, marriage and death. in these rituals they are  assisted by  their womenfolk as  well.In  1961, there were 3,090 barbers and  workers doing related  jobs, in  the  district ,of  whom 307 were in the  rural areas.

Washermen          

        In spit of  the change over to laundaries,  washing shops and dry-cleaning shops in  recent years,. the  Washermen  is still a common sight in cities and towns,  collecting  dirty  clothes for washing on the banks of some nearby river, rivulet,  nullah or tank.             

        The  rising costs of  washing  materials  and the  coming in to  vogue  of synthetic  fibre  clothes have  adversely affected  the  trade of the  Washermen. A substantial  number of clothes  being washed at home , only  the  woolens, silken and other delicate clothes find  their  way to the   laundaries  and  dry- cleaning  shops  in the  cities, The  conditions in the  villages, however, have  not undergone any substantial change. In 1961,  there  were 4,305  Washermen including dry - cleaners of whom 434 were in the urban  area.

Tailors

                Since times immemorial tailoring  has been considered to  be a fine  art, as it  requires hard, sustained and  specialized  training , particularly  under  an expert in the  profession. Noted tailors in  the   cities only  attend to  the cutting of the cloth  for various  items of  dress and leave  the  stitching  and sundry jobs to  their  assistants who   are either close  relations or employed on daily  or monthly  wages or on  commission basis.  They also  specialize in  ladies' or gent' garments.

        In the rural  area the entire  jobs handled by  a single  individual  -the  kurta, shirt and  pajama being  the traditional items of  tailored  dresses. In 1961 there were 2,611 tailors and  dressmakers of  whom733 were in  the urban  areas.

Other Occupations

                Among  those pursuing  other  occupations  in the district  1961  ,there were 2,150 spinners, weavers, knitters and  dyers; 3,290 carpenters,  wood-workers and  coopers; 1931 hawkers, pedlars and street vendors; 1,040  basket  weavers; 1,996 brick layers, plasterers and construction workers; 6,521  potters, kilnmen and glass blowers; 1,027 oil-seed crushers and  pressers;100  khandsari, sugar and gur makers; 876 religious workers; 60 compositors,  printers,  engravers and  book-binders; 696 book -keepers  and  cashiers;  2,132 millers, pounders, huskers,  parchers and related food workers; 996  bakers,  confectioners, candy  and  sweetmeat makers; 1,400 leather workers  and shoes makers and  repairers; 28 fishermen ; 495 drivers of  vehicle   drawn  by  animals; 171 musicians;  765 jewelers,  goldsmiths and precision  instrument makers and  repairers; 259 electricians and  electronic workers; 466  loggers and  forestry  workers;551 blacksmiths,  Hammersmith and forgemen,509  malis;88 astrologers and  palmists; 2,606, salesmen and   shop attendants;188  cycle-rickshaw drivers; 839 machinists and tool makers;15 palm-tappers; 116  tobacco product  makers; 13 authors;3 editors and journalists, 8 painters   and  commercial artists;10 actors,171 musicians; 61 dancers and   4 artists  and  related workers.