3
districts of Jessore, Nadia and Murshidabad, the latter in Dinajpur, Rajshahi,
Dacca and Faridpur. Several Sub-Assistant Surgeons were employed in
distributing quinine gratis in several districts during the fever season.
There was a large increase in the sale of quinine by the Jail Department.
Arrangements have now been made by which this department will prepare
the quinine " treatments " which have hitherto been obtained from a firm in
England.
The Malaria Committee devoted itself during the year primarily to a con-
sideration of the measures that should be taken to render quinine more popu-
lar and to bring it more prominently to the notice of the general public.
Detailed arrangements have been made and they will shortly be put into force.
6. Verification of vital statistics.—The enquiries into births and deaths
made by the Vaccination staff indicate very defective registration of vital
statistics, and the improvements noticed in previous years have not continued.
There was an unusually large number of omissions in the districts of the
Rajshahi Division while the results in Khulna are still far from satisfactory.
The question of the improvement of statistics in compulsory areas was under
consideration during the year. The system of registration by the police was
found to be defective, and it was decided that the work should be retrans-
ferred to the municipal authorities with effect from the 1st April 1913.
7. Vaccination.—The total number of operations performed in the
Presidency during the year was 1,984,399, the number of persons vaccinated
being 1,971,200. There was a decrease of 16,509 in primary vaccinations.
The decrease was attributed chiefly to the prevalence of malarial fever
during the working season and to the opposition to vaccination of the Farazi
Muhammadans of certain districts. Owing to the greater prevalence of small-
pox in the districts of Dacca, Chittagong, Mymensingh and Tippera there was
an increase of 54,324 in the number of re-vaccinations. An increase was also
noticed in Midnapore where steps were taken by the Magistrate for the re-
vaccination of all adults in whose cases the effect of previous vaccination
had died out.
8. Sanitary works.—The section on sanitary works in the Sanitary Com-
missioner's report and the Report of the Sanitary Board give a very detailed
account of the measures that have been taken or are in progress towards
improvements in sanitation. Increased expenditure on conservancy, the
execution or preparation of schemes of water-supply, sewerage, and drainage,
all indicate greater activity on the part of municipalities and a greater
realization of their responsibilities in this important work. But progress
is far from rapid. Much time is lost by municipalities in the consideration
of projects that have been prepared by the Sanitary Engineer, and the
applications for loans from Government to finance a scheme are, as a rule,
so imperfectly prepared in the first instance that considerable delay is
bound to ensue. Government is ready to contribute liberally towards these
sanitary schemes, but, as the figures quoted in paragraph 58 of the report
show, full advantage was not taken of the amount that was available during
the year 1912-13. A large sum has been provided in the budget for the
-current year to assist municipalities in schemes of sanitation, and His
Excellency in Council trusts that municipalities will take advantage of this,
and will push on the schemes of water-supply and drainage which they now
have in hand. In rural areas water-supply is the pressing need ; on this
question the Governor in Council has expressed his views on more than one
occasion. The transfer of the Public Works Cess to District Boards will
enable these bodies to devote greater attention to, and effect greater
improvements in, the sanitation of rural areas.
9. Sanitary Board.—The re-arrangement of the provinces caused some
temporary disorganization of the work in the Sanitary Engineer's office, but
no schemes suffered by the change. The year was one of great activity in
the Sanitary Engineer's office, and the establishment was fully employed.
Sixteen schemes of water-supply were under consideration while 11 were in
process of execution. Seventeen drainage schemes were in the course of
preparation in the Sanitary Engineer's office. Eight others were examined or
revised while work was in progress on nine schemes.