CUTTACK LUNATIC ASYLUM.
101
Out of this total of 69 individuals, 13 died, 5 were discharged cured, 1 was made
over to friends, 1 transferred from civil to criminal, and 49 remained at the end of the
year. There were, thus, 7 per cent. of recoveries, and of these the average period under
treatment was one year and four months; 2 recoveries occurred within six months after ad-
mission.
Causes of insa-
nity.
7. I do not think much reliance can be placed on the accuracy of the alleged
causes of insanity; and I believe that many of the cases are attributed to ganja smoking
by the police or the patients' friends, as being the only cause they can think of. Natives of
India almost invariably assign a cause for every phenomenon that they observe.
Of the 14 admissions in 7 cases, the disease was attributed to ganja, and in 2 it was
said to be hereditary; in 2 cases due to epilepsy, and in 3 the cause unknown.
Industries.
8. Most of the lunatics perform some kind of labor. Some work in the garden, which
is really very well cultivated, and entirely by their own labor. Others twist string and
rope, and a few weave common cloth at the looms. The women spin cotton. No attempt at
compulsion is employed, and of course the work is somewhat irregular ; but some work really
very steadily. The sale of manufactures realized Rs. 347-15 (of this, garden produce was
Rs. 46). The value of the manufactures not sold may be estimated at Rs. 55. Against this
total must be deducted Rs. 196, the price of raw material.
Mechanical res-
traint.
9. No mechanical restraint of any kind is had recourse to in the management of
the lunatics, and it has not been found necessary. I think, however, that cases do occasionally
occur where some simple form of restraint is less irritating than forcibly hand-holding- for
a very violent lunatic. This is acknowledged to be the case in England. Only one
accident has occurred, when one of the lunatics, a complete imbecile, apparently with the help
of another lunatic, managed to commit suicide by hanging himself in his cell during the
night.
Cost of the asy-
lum.
10. The total cost of the asylum, including the superintendent's allowance, has
been Rs. 5,213-0-6, or Rs. 101-4-1 per head of the daily average strength. The cost of
diet has been Rs. 31-8-3 per head. The cost of diet has been Rs. 6 per head more than
in the previous year. The chief reason of this is, that the average prices of rice, dall, salt,
oil, and spice were very much higher in 1872 than in 1871, especially during the months
of June to October, after the great floods which took place in June.
The cost of extra diet for the sick, too, rose from Rs 45 to Rs. 195. The chief items of
this being milk, meat, rum, sugar, and sago, which were required for the number of
patients suffering from extreme debility and exhaustion; 11 of the deaths were cases of
this nature.
Difficulty in in-
troducing the sys-
tem of contract.
11. With regard to introducing the system of contracts by public tender for the
supply of diet and other articles to the lunatics, if it could be managed, it would certainly
be an advantage and save trouble ; but I fear that in Cuttack it is hardly possible. There
are no contractors or people accustomed to give supplies in such a manner, and the price
of provisions varies so suddenly and so enormously at different times, that the result
of my inquiries is, that no one would take such a contract for a year on anything like
reasonable terms, and it would cost very much more to feed the patients by contract than
to continue the present arrangement of paying for the supplies at the current bazar rates.
The matter is to come before the next meeting of the visitors.
Overseer.
12. The overseer, Shaik Emamoodin, and the 8 warders, have generally performed
their duties satisfactorily.
z