The following figures about the progress achieved in Biro-Bidjan, autonomous Jewish territory in the Far East, during the past year and the plans for the next year have just been publishers here:-
The number of new settlers who arrived in Biro-Bidjan in 1935 amounted to 8,347. Of these 62 per cent were men and 38 per cent women. Fifty six per cent of the settlers were qualified workers. Of these 618 were agriculturists, 171 carpenters, 72 tractor workers, 60 motor-car drivers, 24 locksmiths, 87 tailers and 61 shoemakers. Specialists and social workers numbered 615. A total of 3,375 persons joined the local industrial, artisan and building undertakings, 1,491 were settled on the land, 119 were found employment on the transport system, and 1,485 were employed by the administrative and cultural institutions in the Region.
According to their age, 50 per cent of the immigrants were over 24 years old, 18 per cent were between the ages of 16 and 24, 18 per cent between the ages of 8 and 16, and 14 per cent were children up to 8 years old. A total of 6,177 of the new settlers or 74 per cent came from the Ukraine, 1,168, or 14 per cent, from White Russia and the rest from other parts of Russia.
The plan for 1936 provides for the settlement of 10,000 persons, consisting of 2,246 families and 2,000 individuals. Of these settlers 6,588 are to be employed in industry, 1,395 in the transport system of the Region, 1,595 in agriculture and 452 in social and cultural institutions.
The chief difference between last year’s and this year’s programme consists in the allocation of a large number of Jewish settlers in the transport system of the Region, in which Jewish immigrants are still under-represented.
As already reported, half of the new settlers are to be recruited from abroad, especially from Poland.
Particular attention is to be paid to the erection of housing accommodation for the settlers, 21,000,000 roubles having been assigned for that purpose, instead of 7,000,000 roubles in 1935.
A further sum of 6,826,000 roubles is to be spent for transporting the emigrants, 5,414,000 roubles for the building of new dwelling houses for the artisans among the settlers, and 3,452,000 roubles for the purchase of furniture and household goods, a total of 15,692,000 roubles.
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