4
people living in each class, as this information is not forthcoming. There were
therefore on the average 6.14 persons to a house, which supports the idea that
the town is overcrowded. In Kolhápur there are on the average only 4.77
persons to a house.
12. By far the greatest number of houses consists only of a ground floor,
there being very few upper-storied buildngs in the town. Those of a better class
have a well raised plinth, in some instances made of cut-stone, but usually con--
sisting of blocks of laterite, with which the walls are also constructed ; whilst
those of the inferior description are built of mud or of sun-dried bricks plastered
over, between wooden supports, and these are but slightly raised off the ground ;
in fact, in many cases the floors are below the surface. All the roofs in the town
are tiled.
13. The houses for the most part are built in a continuous line facing the
streets, but in their rear no sort of regularity has been preserved, as . some project
far beyond those on either side ; and they are frequently found to cover a space of
about 70 feet, the only communication with the external air being by the doors
in front and behind, the consequence being that the rooms in the centre are not
only very dark, but have no possible means of ventilation except through the
interstices of the tiles, which, I was glad to see, did not fit very well, and which
are often displaced by the monkeys who wander at large over the roofs through-
- o u t t h e t o w n . T h e r e i s a l w a y s a b a c k c o u r t - y a r d o f s o m e k i n d o r o t h e r i n
which is situated generally speaking a well, and within a few feet of this there is
usually a privy, which I will presently describe.
14.
The water-supply of Belgaum is entirely derived from wells exca--
vated in the laterite sub-soil which retains the annual rain falling over it like a
sponge. On the upper side of the town the wells have an average depth of
about 80 feet, and the water level was at the time of my inspection there found
at about 54 feet below the surface. But in the lowest part of the town the
water level was observed to be only about 3 feet below the surface, and here the
wells are said to be about 30 or 40 feet deep.
15. I am informed that there are 1,323 private wells in the town, and besides
these there are 11 public wells ; but none of them are covered over, and all were
found fouled by leaves, flowers, sticks, paper, &c., having been thrown into them.
The large public well near the Mámlatár's kutcherry is open and when con-
structed had several privies within a few yards of it, which I am glad to learn
the municipal authorities have closed. The public well in Kalkurbagh is also
not covered. The water in it is considered to be the best in Belgaum, but I very
much doubt whether a chemical analysis would support this belief, as the well
adjoins a temple and is surrounded by houses, and at the time of my visit bathing
water and other offensive liquid were flowing from two houses opposite on to the
pavement round it, though no gutter or pipe had been provided to carry away the
wastage water. Alongside the public well in Baput Gulley a heap of cutchra was
found stacked against the parapet wall, and the corner, in which it was built, was
the receptacle for all kinds of dirt to be thrown. The Bhogarvis public well
was built at a great expense by the Municipality, but shortly after it was opened,
a Brahman threw himself into it and the water has not since been as much used
as before. In the close proximity of another public well on the confines of the
western boundary of the town, privies and other filth were found. There are
also 8 tanks ; but they are situated outside town limits, and the water in them
is only used for agricultural purposes and for watering cattle except in Kapileswar
Tank, through which the Sháhpur road passes ; a well has been constructed on
one side, the water of which is drunk during the dry season by the poorer classes.
There are said to be no springs in the town.
16. The whole of the water-supply is, therefore, derived from surface wells,
which are generally speaking of great depth ; and I have no doubt that originally