MUNICIPAL DEPARTMENT.
SANITATION.
CALCUTTA, THE 22ND AUGUST 1916.
RESOLUTION—No.. 554SAN.
READ—
The Reports of the Sanitary Commissioner, the Sanitary Board and the Sanitary Engineer, Bengal,
for the year 1915.
READ ALSO—
The Annual Statistical Returns and Short Notes on Vaccination in Bengal for the year 1915-16.
General Results.—The outstanding feature of the returns of vital
occurrences for the year 1915 is that, for the first time since 1892, the
number of deaths in Bengal exceeded the recorded number of births.
The excess amounted to 46,939 and was the result largely of widespread
epidemics of cholera and small-pox, which caused altogether 163,464
deaths, and partly also of reduced vitality consequent on the adverse
economic conditions and bad agricultural seasons of this and previous years.
The decrease of population was not uniform and was in fact confined to
the Presidency, Burdwan and Rajshahi Divisions, a continued increase being
recorded in the Dacca and Chittagong Divisions with their prolific and pros-
perous population.
Year.
1911...
1912
1913
1914
1915
Increase or
decrease.
+ 363,607
+ 250,556
+ 198,053
+ 103,992
- 46,939
2. The year 1915 must be regarded as the worst of a cycle of bad
years, for, since 1911, the rate at which the people
of Bengal have added to their number has
gradually diminished, as shown in the margin,
till the annual increase gave place to an actual,
decrease in the year under review. The Burdwan
Division, which has suffered severely from the
ravages of fever, sustained a small loss (2 per mille) during the quinquennium,
and the Presidency Division was practically stationary, its population
increasing by only 4 per mille. On the other hand, a rise of 12 per mille
was recorded in the Rajshahi Division, while the population of the Dacca
Division grew at the rate of 34 per mille and that of the Chitragong Division
by no less than 59 per mille.
3. Birth-rate.—The Governor in Council notices with regret that the
birth-rate, which was more or less stationary in the previous two years,
fell in 1915 to 31.80 per mille, or 2.06 per mille less than in 1914. The
decline in the , number of births must be attributed to unfavourable
economic and climatic conditions. It was observed in the Resolution of
this Government reviewing the Report of the Sanitary Commissioner for
the year 1914 that deficiency of rainfall had affected the agricultural
outturn to such an extent as to preclude the possibility of. a fall in the
price of food-grains, and that this in its turn was bound to re-act on
the vitality of the poorer classes. It was also pointed out that there
had been a check in the growth of the population, which was ascribed
to the short outturn of food-grains in recent years, and the fear was express-
ed that the low prices obtained by cultivators for jute in 1914 would tend
to diminish the growth of population still further. The effect of the
unfavourable conditions prevailing in 1914 and the early part of 1915 is now
seen in a decline in the birth-rate. It is noticeable that, during 1915, a
reduction in the birth-rate was common to all provinces in India, except
Assam, and that in this Presidency the decline was not universal, the birth-
rate continuing to rise in the Chittagong Division.
4. Death-rate.—The total number of deaths recorded exceeded by 57,278
the figure returned in the preceding year. In this respect, also, Bengal is not
exceptional, for an increase of mortality also took place in the adjoining
provinces of Assam, and Bihar and Orissa, as well as in Burma and the Punjab.
The augmented death-roll is due mainly to an increase of 64,305 deaths from
cholera and small-pox and partly to adverse agricultural seasons. A defici-
ency of rainfall in West Bengal resulted in a partial failure of crops, while