3
The municipality has been in existence since 1856, but it was constituted
a town municipality under Act VI. of 1873 on the 7th November 1874. The
Municipal Commissioners are, I am informed, a body of influential gentlemen who
evince much interest in all matters appertaining to the health of the community.
The area of the town, without including the fort, station, or villages, is stated to
be about 17/12 square miles. It is divided for municipal purposes into 5 wards, and
is estimated there are, without counting the narrow lanes and gullies, 14
miles of roads through it, 9 of which are covered with metal or moorum.
The population consisted, at the time of the census of 1872, of
19,575 Hindus who formed 72.13 per cent. of the entire population.
6,792 Mussulmans
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25.05
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261 Buddhists
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0.96
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493 Christians
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1.82
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10 others
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0.04
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These persons resided in 5,181 houses, of which were
—
152 of the better sort, by which term is meant houses estimated to
yield a yearly rental exceeding Rs. 35.
1,344 of middling sort, estimated yearly rental exceeding Rs. 15, but not
exceeding Rs. 35.
2,392 of inferior sort, yearly rental exceeding Rs. 6 but not exceeding
Rs. 15.
1,293 huts, yearly rental less than Rs. 6.
There were only 79 upper-storied houses, the remainder consisting of only
ground floors ; 2,020 had flat mud terraces as roofs, 2,098 were tiled in the usual
manner with a central ridge, 809 had chuppered roofs, 175 were in a ruinous con-
dition. Houses of the better and middling class are built with sun-dried bricks
made of white earth, and are, generally speaking, plastered over with mud, there
being only about 20 or 30 houses in the whole town whose walls are covered
with chunam. The inferior class of houses and the huts are built with sun-dried
bricks, made with reddish or blackish earth, plastered over with mud. The mud
walls are substantial, and keep out the rays of the sun, and do not crumble away
under rain, and are in this respect suitable to the climate ; but none of the houses
have had any proper means of ventilation provided for them, and in only a very
few—and those principally where the admission of light for the purpose of carry-
ing on their trade is absolutely essential, as, for example, in the houses where
weavers live—have any openings been made in the external walls ; and even in these
the windows are very small—about 11/2 feet square would, I think, be a large esti-
mate of their size. The only means of ventilation is through the door's, which
are closed at night. The tiled roofs are healthier than the mud terraces, which.
allow no perflation of air at all ; but even though there may be a little escape, of
air through the interstices left by the tiles, it is manifestly insufficient ; and the
people sleep huddled together often in the same room with animals, breathing the
exhalations-from their own and their fellows' bodies, and, of course, their health.
must suffer. These houses are made just like a box with a tightly fitting lid ;
there is not even any hole made in the roof by which smoke can escape, so that
when the choolas are lighted, the residents are obliged to sit down so as to escape
the fumes.
During the last five years 59 new houses with flat mud terraces and.
167 with tiled roofs have been built. The people are in the habit of keeping their
cattle and other animals inside their houses—a practice which adds much to the
impurity of the atmosphere they breathe ; though I was glad to notice, among the
many excellent municipal arrangements I saw in Dharwar, that the mulch cattle
are not allowed to be kept inside the houses, but are tethered in the compounds
outside. I shall revert to this subject presently; but many, even influential, gentle-