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against every species of mosquito. As has already been stated, such a scheme,
to be successful, must ensure that every one of the 45,000 " houses" or premises
in the City is examined by a trained inspector onc9 every week or ten days.
In addition to this house inspection, the inspectors would have to examine the
immediate surroundings of each house also, in order that no likely breeding
place for mosquitoes escaped attention. Gorgas has given it as his opinion that
" An intelligent inspector should readily inspect twenty-five houses a day";
but there is reason to b9lieve that this is rather too high a figure for Bombay.
It allows, in a working day of eight hours (excluding office duty and making
reports), an average of only twenty minutes to each house, and it is quite
impossible to thoroughly examine many of the large premises in the City
in as short a time as this.
358. But if we adopt the figure of 25 houses a day as the work to be
accomplished by each inspector, one man could inspect at this rate about 600
houses a month, 200 houses every ten days, or 150 every week. Supposing a
weekly inspection were decided on for the 45,000 houses in Bombay, a staff
of 300 inspectors would be required.
359. The status of these inspectors must also be considered. A trained
coolie is as good as anyone for the mere discovery of mosquito larvae, but trained
coolies could not be used as inspectors, and there is the same difficulty in the
use of men of a rather superior stamp (i. e. " rnukadums,"), for although well-
trained mukadums could do the work efficiently, power of entry to private
premises could not be delegated to men below the standing of a sub-inspector.
Therefore for a weekly inspection of 45,000 houses 390 sub-inspectors would
be needed.
360. At the present time the Health Department possesses an inspecting
staff of 3 chief inspectors, 7 sanitary inspectors, 7 assistant sanitary inspectors
and 6S sub-inspectors with another 10 temporary inspectors appointed for anti-
mosquito work. It will be seen therefore that the existing staff would allow
of little more than a monthly inspection of each house on the island if nearly
all the existing inspectors were employed upon this work exclusively,
3 31. SCHEME I.—Prevention and destruction of mosquitoes of all kinds
throughout the City.—To carry out efficient inspection of all premises on the
island in order to prevent the breeding of mosquitoes would necessitate an
increase in the existing staff by about 225 sub-inspectors. As the. rate of pay
of a sub-inspector in Bombay is Us. 40 per mensem, this item alone would
amount to a sum of Us. 1,08,000 per annum. And as each of these inspectors
would require about three coolies to assist him, and to carry the appliances and
material required for discovering and destroying mosquito larvae this would
necessitate an extra staff of about 775 labourers, on a rate of pay not mush
less than Us. 12 per month for each man. The cost of these men alone would
amount to nearly Rs. 1,11,600 par annum; and the total cost of this extra staff
would be Rs. 2,19,600.
362. But it would be necessary to allow for the proper control of the
subordinate inspectors also and for this purpose the superior inspecting staff would
have to be increased. A full sanitary inspector could not properly supervise the
work of more than 10 sub-inspectors, as this would allow him to devote on the
average only two to three working days a month to the work of each individual
inspector in his charge. Including the 3 chief inspectors, 7 sanitary inspectors
and 7 assistant sanitary inspectors, the existing superior inspection staff of the
Health Department numbers only 17 all told, excluding the Deputy Health
Officers. It would be necessary to nearly double this staff, so as to divide the
City into districts containing about 1,530 houses each. On, the average the
sanitary inspectors of the grade required draw about Rs. 150 per mensem in
Bombay, and the increased number would entail an expenditure of nearly 30,000
rupees. Each sanitary inspector would need two peons or puttawallahs which
would cost nearly another Rs. 4,600 per annum. It will be seen from these
figures that the increased sanitary inspection staff and labour required for efficient
anti-mosquito work in Bombay, on the lines of that conducted in Port Said,
Ismailia, Rio do Janeiro and other places, would entail an expenditure of
about Rs. 2,54,000.