33
transferred to Simla, where be was previously engaged in supervising the arrangements
for the surveillance of persons coming from infected areas :—
ROAD AND RAILWAY INSPECTION POSTS AT KALKA.
Measures relating to travellers.
"I arrived in Kálka on January 13th, 1902. At this time I found the town of Kálka
free from plague, and the system in force
for inspection of travellers was as follows :—
1. Railway travellers.—The inspection at the station was under the supervision of
Captain Eates, I. S. M. D., who received his orders from the Deputy Commissioner, Simla.
The system in force was that laid down in Part III (a) of the Plague Hand-book.
This practically meant that all persons who were not actually suffering from suspicious
symptoms were allowed to proceed after a cursory medical examination. The power given
to the Inspecting Medical Officer by paragraph 5 of the rules to detain people whom he
considered " specially dangerous " was, prior to my arrival, rarely or never exercised.
As, however, by the middle of February the Ambala District and practically the whole of
the Punjab from Ambala to Siálkot was plague-infected, and as there appeared to be a
great risk of the plague being carried up to Simla, if more effective measures were not
taken, I ordered Captain Eates to make use of the power given by paragraph 5 in practically
all cases of arrivals from infected areas. A large number of arrivals were thus detained
daily in the segregation camp close to the station. At first the period of detention was
ten days, but later the numbers grew so large that it had to be considerably reduced.
Road traffic.
As, side by side with the railway traffic, there was also a large number of travel-
lers arriving daily by road at Kálka on their
way to Simla and other hill stations, it was
obvious that, as long as the latter were allowed to pass through without any supervision,
the detention of railway travellers was of little use as a measure to guard the hill stations.
I therefore gave orders that all travellers by road should be detained daily at the police
post on the Kálka-Ambala Road till I saw them myself. I visited this post twice
daily and personally passed orders on every arrival. The numbers amounted to 200 or 300
bullock carts daily, about the same numbers of camels, and perhaps 100 to 150 foot-
passengers. This was in March and April ; in January and February the figures were not
of course so high.
The majority of cartmen and camel-drivers were allowed to proceed after medical
examination, as in most cases they had come from villages at so great a distance that
8 or 9 days must have been spent on the journey and the risk of infection was therefore
reduced to a minimum. Later, as the area of infection spread, the number of cart and
camel-drivers detained were much larger. Foot-passengers who may have stopped at
infected villages on the way from their houses were in most cases detained.
After this system had been in force for a short time, the numbers detained became
so large that the period of detention had to be reduced from 10 to 7 or even 6 days. Even
then the numbers in camp were becoming unwieldy, and I therefore decided to start work-
ing the Thresh Disinfector, and to give all arrivals from infected areas the choice of remain-
ing in quarantine for the whole period of incubation, or of remaining for 24 hours, and then
being allowed to go after their clothes had been disinfected, provided of course they had
no suspicious symptoms. This system worked excellently. Practically all detenus preferred
to be allowed to go after disinfection, and only those were detained, for 8 or 10 days, who
came from villages close by, known to be badly infected, or were for other reasons consider-
ed specially dangerous. The choice between disinfection and detention was also given to
arrivals by train, and nearly all of them chose the former. No pressure was used in any case.
I am aware that strictly speaking the detention of arrivals by road is not anywhere
authorized in the Plague Rules. The principle is, however, recognised by paragraph 33
of the regulations for villages. Disinfection was only resorted to as the number of arrivals
from infected areas was so large (perhaps 300 or 400 daily would be inside the figure) that
it was impossible to detain all, and disinfection- was a purely voluntary alternative from
first to last. Moreover, it seemed to me that the maintenance of a strong inspection post
and elaborate disinfecting appliances at Kálka was a waste of money, if nothing was done
except to make all passengers submit to a cursory medical examination. The rules
applicable to Kálka, as laid down in the Hand-Book, did not contemplate the state of affairs
that existed this spring, when practically every village in the Kharar and Rúpar Tahsils,
below Kálka was infected, besides every district from Karnál to Siálkot, In any case the
success of the system seems to me to be its own justification. Two or three cases of plague
were actually discovered among travellers, and two or three deaths occurred in the quarantine
camp ; while no case of plague occurred in any hill station, till after the system had to be
discontinued, after the occurrence of a number of indigenous cases in Kalka itself. Early
in March, however, the Deputy Commissioner of Simla refused to sanction further expendi-
ture on detention and disinfection of travellers, in view of the expressed opinion of the
Government of India stated in paragraphs 48 and 49 of the Resolution on the Report of
the Plague Commission quoted in the Plague Hand-Book. At the same time, as he consider-
ed it urgently necessary that the interest of Simla should be guarded, he referred the
matter to Government, and His Honour the Lieutenant-Governor sanctioned the continuance
of the system enforcing either disinfection or detention of all arrivals from infected places,