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Captain Smith offers the following remarks on the subject of camps:—
A number of private camps were erected on the Kennedy Sea Face. These camps were
placed in charge of the District Plague Office, A Ward, and consequently I am not in
a position to report on them. I would, however, suggest that in future years that these
camps should not be given over to well-to-do communities, but that the camps should be
erected at Municipal expense, and poorer classes from the slums and badly infected houses
and quarters of C Ward should be made to compulsorily vacate their very wretched
hovels and be made to live in these camps, and the chawls, etc., that they vacate should
be compulsorily closed. The only camp belonging to C Ward was the Goculdas Tejpal.
This camp was originally built to hold over 1,700 persons, but since compulsory evacuation
has ceased the capacity of the camp has been reduced to about 600. At first the old
rules were in force and contacts and evicts were sent to the camp, and it used to be kept
pretty well full. Nowadays however, it has remained very empty comparatively speaking.
The reasons amongst many, that this camp was not used so much as it might have been
was the fact that in accordance with the rules for the use of Plague Officials in Bombay
City laid down that it would be only allowable to let the people whose houses were
being disinfected remain in camp two or three days. I, however, used to allow them at least
ten days, and I would never guarantee more. In many cases where the people came
from highly-infected houses, localities, etc., I also allowed the people to remain more
than a month.
The people would not move into camp for such short periods as ten days as they said
that it was too much trouble to go out for so short a time and then have to return to their
houses. They were quite willing to go into camp if they could go two or more months.
Many persons during the past year have come and asked the Sectional Medical Officers
and myself whether they could not have camp accommodation as they were living in a
locality in which rats were dying in large numbers and plague cases were occurring in the
surrounding houses. They were always very disappointed when I told them the short
period for which I could give accommodation. I have at different times been asked by
people of various classes why I did not remove or allow the poorer people to go into camp
and so save them from the infection. One or two very badly infected houses were very
nearly completely evacuated and the people induced to go to camp.
Some of the people were quite willing to go but they refused to quit their dark hovels
unless they had a promise from the landlord that on their return from camp they would be
allowed to re-occupy those they were then in. In the case of 85-1, Picket Road it was not
until the landlord's representative had promised this that we could induce the occupants to
go to camp. Even then one or two families remained in the house and would not move
out. This house was very badly infected. The people went out on 28th January, and between
31st January and 9th February 1901 no less than twelve of these people developed plague
and were removed to hospital. In previous years, this chawl which has a very bad history
used to be compulsorily evacuated as soon as plague showed itself in it.
People from Takwadi, No. 19, were induced to go to camp, but they would not go
until very many of them had succumbed to plague. In fact, the last family to go had previ-
ously absolutely refused to move out and did not do so until one of them was attacked.
Plague was arrested in Nos. 8 and 9, Bhangwadi amongst a number of Brahmins by
inducing them to go to camp. Rao Saheb Purshotum Odhavji assisted me very greatly in
inducing these people to go out.
As regards Camps Dr. Britto writes as follows :—" The people themselves have learned
to appreciate the good effects of removing from infected houses, as in all instances where the
houses were badly infected, they asked for accommodation in camp. Many availed themselves
of the concession, while others were obliged to stay in the houses as the time allowed in
camps was limited to ten days. Under the circumstances they found it difficult to leave
their houses on the off chance of securing other quarters at the expiration of ten days.
It is a generally known fact that people from infected houses and localities are refused
house accommodation in other and better localities and houses."