2
" In Eastern Bengal, however, these relationships with rice harvests do not occur, in
fact the relationships are rather reversed. The explanation probably lies in the different
class of crop grown in Eastern Bengal, viz , jute. The demand for jute is a world-wide
one, and the price of jute is therefore often determined by factors outside of Bengal.
Falling jute prices, moreover, are associated often with good harvests, a good harvest does
not therefore mean increased prosperity, as a good rice harvest does to the people of
Western and Central Bengal. Conditions therefore tending to favourable vital occurrences
in Western and Central Bengal may tend to unfavourable vital occurrences in
Eastern Bengal and vice versa, so that it is necessary to appreciate these differences in
economic and agricultural conditions before drawing conclusions as to the health condi-
tions in the different parts of the province. On the whole, however, the conditions
governing the production of jute are not so liable to fluctuations as those of rice produc-
tion, and these vital occurrences tend to be more stable in Eastern than in Western and
Central Bengal. The desideratum is the stabilisation of both rice harvests and of death-
rates, and it would appear that the stabilisation of one would produce a similar effect on
the other."
3. Registration of births and deaths.—The Director of Public Health
has again drawn attention to the continued neglect by municipal authorities
in administrating the Registration of Births and Deaths Act. The necessity
of obtaining an accurate record of vital statistics on which all sanitary
measures depend was emphasised in last year's resolution, and the Governor
in Council once more desires to invite the attention of municipal authorities
to this important matter.
4. Infant mortality.—In 1924 252,837 infants died under the age of
one year, as compared with 253,694 during the preceding year, the total
mortality showing a net decrease of .5 per cent. The rate of infant mortality,
however, increased from 182.1 per mille in 1923 to 184.2 per mille in 1924.
In 1924, 1,972 deaths from child births were reported, but the figure is
not reliable and the Director of Public Health estimates that this figure
should, in fact, be much higher.
In comparison with the preceding year, the still-births showed an
increase of 3.3 per cent. In showing the proportion of still-births to total
births in districts the Director of Public Health states that " however
unreliable the registration of still-births may be, it is obviously apparent that
in many of the districts............, still-births occur in the proportion of 1 to
every 12-16 births. The District Health Officer of Khulna ascribed still-
births to the inefficiency of the ignorant country dais to resuscitate an
asphyxiated child born after a prolonged and difficult labour, the child
being thus left as dead on account of its not crying after birth. It is there-
fore essential that the district boards should seriously consider the question
of training country dais and thus reduce the number of still-births."
Some district boards and municipalities actually started classes for the
training of dais in 1923. The Governor in Council hopes that this sensible
example will be followed by other boards. The opening of such classes is
encouraged by the offer of small subsidies from Government
Cholera.—There were 48,514 deaths from cholera in 1924 against 41,483
in 1923, showing a death-rate of 1.04 against .89 per mille of the population in
the previous year and 1.5, the mean for the previous five years. Although
the mortality from the disease was greater than in 1923, the decline on the
average of the previous quinquennium was thus easily maintained. The
Director of Public Health attributes the decrease mainly to the measures
taken by the local bodies to cope with cholera epidemics by employing addi-
tional temporary sanitary staff, The Governor in Council appreciates the
continued excellent work which such voluntary agencies as the Bengal Health
Association, the Cholera Brigade of the Central Anti-malarial Co-operative
Society and the Bengal Social Service League have done for the prevention
of the disease.
The satisfactory results obtained so far tend to show that with the
organization of a properly trained staff and the carrying out in every thana
of anti-cholera measures, there is every chance of eliminating the disease as
one of the chief factors in increasing the mortality of the province. It is
gratifying to note that through the publicity work carried on by the Public
Health Department by means of lectures and free distribution of popular
literature on the prevention of cholera, the general public are beginning to