INSPECTION REPORT OF THE CITY OF AHMEDNAGAR.
No. A/749.
To
THE SECRETARY TO GOVERNMENT,
GENERAL DEPARTMENT.
Office of the Sanitary Commissioner for the Government
of Bombay, 14th August 1875.
SIR,
I have the honour to report, for the information of His Excellency the
Governor in Council, that, having received a communication from the Collector of
Ahmednagar relative to the establishment of a main drainage scheme in that
city, I considered it my duty to proceed to the place, and to make a sanitary
inspection of the town with reference to the question on which my opinion had
been asked.
2. Ahmednagar is situated in latitude 19°6' north, and longitude 74°48
east, at, according to Dr. Leith (who visited and reported on the city exactly ten
years ago), 126 miles from the sea. It has a mean temperature of 77°, and a mean
annual rainfall of 25.68 inches. It usually rains during every month of the
year, but the heaviest fall generally takes place in September. From the returns
given in Dr. Leith's report from observations kept at the Civil Hospital, it is
stated that, on the average, the wind blows for 261.5 days between the points
south-west to north-west, and for 92.9 days from an easterly direction; whilst
on 8.3 and 2.3 days only, it is said to blow from due north and south.
3. The city stands on the high ground on the left bank of the River
Sina, which runs along its western side at a distance varying from 50 yards
opposite the Nepti Gate, to 500 yards opposite the Delhi and Maliwara Gates;
but the water in it only flows in a stream after heavy rain, and at other times it
presents a sandy bed. It is stated, however, that running water is always found
at a short distance below the surface; at the time of my visit it was reached at a
depth of about a foot; and the dhobies take advantage of this to dig long trenches,
in which it flows in a slow current. The water of the river is not used for
drinking purposes, as it is said to be brackish.
4. The town is surrounded by walls about 12 or 13 feet high, the founda
- t i o n s o f w h i c h a r e b u i l t o f s t o n e , w h i l s t t h e u p p e r p a r t c o n s i s t s o f w h i t e m u d .
It possesses an historical interest to Englishmen, as it was taken by assault on
the 8th August 1803 by the force under the Duke of Wellington, then General
Wellesley (which during the succeeding month won the battle of Assaye); and
there is built into the walls, close to the Maliwara Gate, a memorial tablet, on
the spot where Captain Humberstone Mackenzie, of the 78th Highlanders, fell in
the storming of the town, which now, as then, is approached by nine gates. On
the north, starting from the east, are the Mungulwar, the Surjapur, the
Topekhana, and the Delhi Gates; on the west, the Nalegaon and the Nepti
Gates; on the south, the Maliwara; and on the east, the Bhowa Bungali and
the Jeinda Gates.
5. The limits of the adjacent military cantonment, as will be seen from the
accompanying map, come close up to the walls on the east, and extend on the
north as far as the Simpson Bazaar, a hamlet which is contiguous to the lines of
the district police; whilst on the west there are cultivated fields and gardens
B 221—1d