able from them in the morning; and what has oozed into them during the night
is quickly exhausted. All the wells that I have seen are dirty beyond belief,
and should, I think, be cleaned out before the monsoon sets in. I have pressed
the matter on the attention of the municipal authorities; but, I regret to say,
they are a moribund body, and it is difficult to move them to anything that would
involve the expenditure of even a few annas.
20. Large numbers of people take their drinking water from the tanks;
each of these contain, I am told, a large volume of water after the rainy season,
but now a considerable portion of the muddy bottom is visible. At the water
- l i n e m a y b e s e e n p e o p l e w a s h i n g t h e m s e l v e s , t h e i r c l o t h e s , a n d t h e i r b u l l o c k s ;
and when these avocations have been concluded they will fill theirw ater vessels
and carry them home, using their contents for drinking and cooking purposes.
Now from what I have stated—and I have in no way exaggerated matters—I
think it must be agreed that an improved water-supply is as necessary for Tanna
as is a better drainage system.
21 The health department of Tanna consists of 20 sweepers and 20
scavengers superintended by 3 muccadums. There are 4 bullock carts, which
creep lazily along for the purpose of collecting the rubbish and refuse which
is thrown out from the houses, anyhow and anywhere, into the street. This
establishment is manifestly too small, when it is considered that the bungies
have also the task of looking after the 406 privies, as mentioned in para.
11 of this report; the consequence is, that only the main thoroughfares,
some four or five in number, have the surface dirt removed from them. Once
leave these favoured streets and we come upon dirt and rubbish heaps that have
not been disturbed for years, except to have fresh additions made to them. If
Násik can afford to pay an inspector Rs. 200 per mensem, and maintain a
health department which proved itself so efficient and useful, as I am informed
it did, during the late outbreak of cholera at that station, surely a large town
like Tanna might make an effort to follow so good an example.
22. The measures which I considered it proper to take with a view to
stamping out cholera at its very commencement, and before it reached unman
-ageable proportions, were as follows:—Every effort was put forward to make
the town as clean as possible; all dry-rubbish heaps were burnt on the spot Where
found. The covering stones were taken off the gutters, the filth disinfected
and removed; those containing moist dirt or stagnant fluid were freely disin
-fected twice a day. All the privies, stagnant pools, and places giving out bad
smells, were treated in like manner. The markets were visited twice a day and
bad food seized and destroyed, the vendors being summoned and fined; fires were
kept burning all through the town day and night, and on these dammer and
sulphur were freely burned. There being no health department here, I had no
one that could be held responsible for seeing that my directions in the above
matters were carried out, so that I had to be my own inspector; for I found that,
unless I was on the spot myself, nothing was done. I must not, however, omit to
mention that Mr. Cumine, the Assistant Collector, rendered fine the most valuable
assistance in these inspectorial duties, his aid being most cheerfully given by
day and night where he thought it could be of any assistance; and for the service
he thus rendered and the earnest zeal he threw into the work I cannot suffi
-ciently thank him.
23. In view of expediting the cleansing of the town I tried to get men to
wo r k a t n i g h t ; we we r e a b l e t o ma n a g e t h i s f o r o n e n i g h t b y t o r c h - l i g h t , b u t
could not get men to work a second night. I asked the chairman of the managing
committee of the municipality to put on 50 extra scavengers and some extra
carts for a few days, but he declared he "could not get the men or carts;" so we
were obliged to work with a will with the small establishment at our disposal.
24. Cholera mixture was placed in all the police chowkeys, and the police
were directed to give a dose to any one they heard was suffering from diarrhœa,