6
channel has had the effect of improving the health of the adjacent villages.
There has also been a great diminution of malaria at Kumarkhali where a
small scheme has been carried out for flushing out the drains, ditches and
hollows in and about the town with an abundant supply of water from the
river. The Minister reiterates the policy laid down last year with regard
to measures for the abatement of malaria and trusts that local bodies will
show their readiness in undertaking projects which aim at the removal of
restrictions on natural inundation, the flushing out of swampy areas which
breed anopheles, and the general improvement of agriculture.
(b) Kala-azar.—The kala-azar survey has been carried out in 13
districts, and up to the present, 23 per cent. of the villages examined have
been found infected with kala-azar. The enquiry has served to stimulate
general interest in kala-azar, and about 300 medical officers practising in the
rural areas have been trained in the diagnosis and treatment of the disease.
As a result of this the number of cases of kala-azar admitted into hospitals
and dispensaries in Bengal has risen from a total of 4,300 in 1919 to over
18,000 in 1922, which represents an increase of over 70 per cent. on the last
year's figures. The Director of Public Health estimates that when investi-
gations have been completed in all parts of Bengal the average incidence of
the disease may be found to be as high as in Assam, viz., 2.8 per mille
of the total population, which represents roughly 130,000 cases of kala-azar
in Bengal. He also refers to pockets of intensive kala-azar infection. The
Minister lays very great importance on stamping out this disease in as short
a lime as possible. As an effective remedial measure has been found, this
can be easily effected if a sufficient number of medical men can be encour-
aged to take part in the work. The Minister is of opinion that the scheme
for encouraging medical officers on the subsidy system adopted by the
Central Co-operative Anti-malaria Society offers the most economical and
efficient method for fighting this disease.
Government (Ministry of Local Self-Government) have in a recent resolu-
tion outlined the general line of an effective plan of campaign against kala-
azar and have also made substantial grants to district boards towards anti-
kala-azar work.
Sanitary Engineering.—A number of municipal water-supply, drainage
and sewerage schemes were prepared by the Chief Engineer, Public Health
Department. Seven water-works and two sewerage schemes were under
construction during the year. Some sanitary works were also carried out
on benalf of the Public Works Department at the Bengal Engineering
College, Sibpur, and the Kurseong water-supply project was completed. The
total capital expenditure on water-supply was Rs. 4,23,601, and the total
expenditure on municipal drainage works amounted to Rs. 6,22,015 in 1922.
There was no improvement in the general financial position of Government
or of the local bodies, and the progress with the execution of sanitary
engineering schemes was in consequence hampered.
In 1921 Government (Ministry of Local Self-Government) appointed a
committee to enquire into the question of the water-supply of the riparian
municipalities on the east bank of the river Hooghly. The committee sub-
mitted their report in 1922, and recommended the adoption of cheaper water-
supply schemes, based on tube-wells, for the towns lying to the north of
Calcutta. Several schemes have accordingly been prepared by the Chief
Engineer, Public Health Department, and it is expected that, as soon as
funds are available, some at any rate of these schemes will be undertaken by
the municipalities concerned. A second committee was appointed during
the year to enquire into the question of the water-supply of the municipalities
on the west bank of the river, and their report is awaited. Enquiries are
being made as to whether tube-wells will be found suitable as sources of
water-supply in other municipal towns.
Tube-wells furnish a generally reliable and a comparatively inexpensive
source of water-supply. The Minister accordingly hopes that chemical con-
stituents of the water causing brackishness in isolated instances will not
stand in the way of an extensive adoption of this method of water-supply,
particularly by small municipalities which cannot afford a more expensive
system of water-works.