11
30. No wonder that Dr. Gray views with suspicion the water from the
stand-pipe and the railway tank, and, not knowing that the first has been filtered,
recommends its use only after filtration. As to the remainder of the samples,
Dr. Gray says they are so highly charged with mineral impurities alone, that
their use as drinking water ought to be prohibited. The river-water taken
from the well above the town near the Shahi Bagh, from which the railway tank
is supplied, contains only 6.17 grains per gallon of common salt (chloride of
sodium); why should there be, lower down, at the water works, 9.77 grains per
gallons, if not from greater contamination? These amounts of salt are large; but
compare them with Premabhai Gate well, which had 42.82 grains per gallon of
salt, and 16.34 grains of sulphuric acid derived from urine!
31. Such is a brief account of the leading features of the present sanitary
condition of the City of Ahmedabad, and I will now show what effect it has had
on the public health. I must, however, premise, that the registration of births
and deaths is conducted under the management of the police who collect the
returns; and perhaps I may express an opinion that the number of deaths, as far as
the city itself is concerned, is as nearly accurate as possible; for at each gate a
police sepoy is stationed, and no corpse can pass out of the town without being
stopped; and a further check is also kept by the Secretary, who has informed me
that only a very trifling difference exists between the figures he has collected
and those furnished by the police. I do not think the birth-rate stated in 1874
to have only amounted to 20 per 1,000, can be accepted as correct. The regis
-
tration is carried on by the police, who learn from houseowners in their re
-
spective beats whether any birth has taken place, and no doubt many births thus
escape registration.
32. The number of deaths registered in the following years in Ahmedabad
will be seen below:—
Years.
Number of Deaths registered.
Ratio of Deaths per 1,000 Population.
Males.
Females.
Total.
Males.
Females.
Total.
1871 . . .
2,846
2,592
5,438
48.9
44.8
46.8
1872 . . .
2,698
2,440
5,138
46.1
41.8
44.0
1873 . . .
2,744
2,729
5,473
46.92
46.73
46.83
1874 . . .
2,685
2,620
5,305
45.89
44.87
45.39
33. And the different causes of deaths are shown in the next return:—
Years.
C h o l e r a .
S m a l l - p o x .
F e v e r .
B o w e l C o m p l a i n t s .
I n j u r i e s .
O t h e r C a u s e s .
A l l c a u s e s .
Ratio of Deaths per 1,000 Population.
C h o l e r a .
S m a l l - p o x .
F e v e r .
Bo we l Co m- p l a i n t s .
I n j u r i e s .
O t h e r C a u s e s .
A l l c a u s e s .
1871 . . .
3
376 3,435
591
*
997 5,438
. . . 3.2 29.2 5.1 *
8.58 46.8
1872 . . .
. . .
8 3,177
78
38
1,837 5,138
. . . 0.1 27.2
0.7 0.3 15.71 44.0
1873 . . .
. . .
5 3,279
155
39
1,995 5,473
. . . 0.04 28.06 1.33 0.33 17.01 46.83
1874 . . .
. . .
1 3,077
114
22
2,091 5,305
. . . 0.01 26.33 0.98 0.19 17.89 45.39
Mean . . . 0.75 97.50 3,242.0 234.5 24.75
1 , 7 3 0 . 0 5,338.5 . . .
0 . 8 4
27.70 2.27 0.21 14.80 45.76
Bombay 1874 . . .
19
258 5,345 1,607 227
7,676 15,132 0.03 0.40 8.29 2.49 0.35 11.91 23.48
* Details are not shown in the Annual Reports.
The above is a most instructive table. The average death-rate from fever is
more than three times larger in Ahmedabad than in Bombay,—in fact, it is more