1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Ballia

BALLIA, a town and district of British India, in the Benares division of the United Provinces. The town is situated on the left bank of the Ganges, below the confidence of the lesser Sarju. It is really an aggregation of rural villages. Pop. (1901) 15,278.

The district of Ballia, constituted in 1879, occupies an angle at the junction of the Gogra with the Ganges, being bordered by two districts of Behar. It contains an area of 1245 sq. m. Owing to the great pressure on the soil from the density of the population, to the reluctance to part with land characteristic of small proprietors, to the generally great productiveness of land and to the very light assessment of government revenue, land in Ballia, for agricultural purposes merely, has a market value higher than in almost any other district. It commonly brings in Rs. 200 per bigha, or £20 per acre, and sometimes double that figure. In 1901 the population was 987,768, showing a decrease of 5% in the decade. The principal crops are rice, barley, other food-grains, pulse, sugar-cane and opium. There are practically no manufactures, except that of sugar. Trade is carried on largely by way of the two bordering rivers.