45
MYSORE DIVISION.
inspection of that station, just after heavy rainfall, this necessity was very apparent, and
I made it the subject of special reference to the Officer Commanding the station, who
communicated with the Municipal Board, and immediate attention to the subject is pro
-mised.
Water-supply .—In regard to water-supply everything is being done, consistent with
the prejudices of the native community, to guard the principal sources of supply for
domestic use against contamination, by setting apart certain wells and tanks for such uses.
But the good intentions of Municipal Boards are constantly frustrated by the apathy or
indifference of the native, and more perhaps by the views he holds of " purity " which he
connects rather with a supply set apart for a few privileged castes, than with the amount
of pollution to which the source of supply is exposed, or to the admixture of what we term
impurities.
Water-supply.
Still, no doubt, advance is being made even in this question, wells and other sources of
supply being subjected to occasional clearing, and being guarded against contamination by
parapet walls, surrounding pavements, and appliances for drawing water, which reduce the
contamination, consequent upon the native method of raising water, to a minimum.
Drainage and sewerage of lines of native regiments .—So also in regard to lines of
native troops, although the majority of those within my circle of superintendence are still
undrained and unseweraged, a beginning has been made at Bangalore, where the lines of the
Sappers and Miners are effectively drained, and new lines for one of the native regiments,
and which are to be drained upon the V- section system, are now under construction, to be
followed by new lines on the same system for the second native regiment.
GENERAL CONSERVANCY.
Drainage and
sewerage of
lines of native
regiments.
Towns and cantonments .—The general conservancy of the large towns under munici
-pal supervision is daily advancing. The public latrine system is being extended to the
gradual extinction of the cess-pit or "midden" system. But this is the most difficult
question municipalities have to contend with. The native is peculiarly jealous of any
interference with his habits; and inspection of his premises by Nuisance Inspectors meets
with much opposition.
Still these inspections are being carried out both at Bangalore and Bellary, and cess
-pits are being closed as fast as means will admit of arrangements being made for daily
removal of night soil, &c., at municipal cost. As explained in a former report, the great
difficulty is with the Brahmin section of the community, whose religious prejudices do not
admit of the entrance of a scavenger into their premises, except by a back entrance, and
should a scavenger pass through, the house must be vacated for a time till it is purified
according to certain rites and ceremonies. At Bangalore lanes are being opened where
practicable to such dwellings and where access can be gained to the back premises, the cess
-pit privies have been closed. The scavengering of streets is duly enforced. Numerous dust
and rubbish boxes are provided, which are emptied daily, and their contents carted away
to a distance. At Bangalore, and to a minor extent at Bellary, the value of night soil and
refuse is appreciated as manure, and the municipality derives a revenue from the sale of it.
Certainly the, sanitary conditions of all of the towns in my range, not merely those
associated with military cantonments, but all municipal towns, offer a marked contrast to
what they were but a few years ago, and steady progress is still being made.
Lines of native troops .—General conservancy, that is the daily removal of all excreta, is
most carefully carried out in every regiment, and the value of the "soil" as manure is
becoming generally appreciated, the removal in most instances being effected by contract,
the contractor paying a small monthly sum for the privilege of removing it.
But conservancy more especially hinges upon the system of latrine accommodation for
the troops and families. In most regimental lines there is outside latrine accommodation
for males and females, but this is very differently appreciated and taken advantage of
in different regiments. But in every regiment there is a number of women who cannot
be made to resort to general latrines, and it consequently becomes necessary to allow small
domestic privies within the yard of each hut, and it is these and the small lavatories attached
to them that constitute the most objectionable feature in the sanitation of native lines.
I have on several occasions remarked that these domestic lavatories and privies are a
necessity, and that in my judgment they should be built on a distinct plan with impervious
floors, so as to prevent that absorption by the soil of all liquid or semi-fluid matter which
now goes on. A small outlay on these privies and bathing places, with systematic inspection
of them, would, I believe, do more to improve the sanitary state of the sepoys' huts, and
the lines generally, than any encouragement given to resort to public latrines on the outskirts
of lines. I do not mean to say that these yards are not inspected, though they are not to
the extent that is desirable, as in some regiments, there is an impression that Medical officers
and Quartermasters are not at liberty to enter them; but there is no power to compel the
sepoy to pave the yard, or to provide efficient drainage. The Government should, I think,
Towns and
cantonments.
Lines of n
a-tive troops.
12