9
20. The above is a brief description of the present sanitary condition of
the City of Poona, and in the following remarks I will try and indicate, in the
order of urgency, the measures I think should be adopted to ameliorate it.
21. The first necessity of Poona is to place the collection and disposal of
the nightsoil produced by the inhabitants on a satisfactory footing, and it is
essential that public halalcores, paid for by the Municipality, should be substi
- t u t e d f o r t h e p r i v a t e s e r v i c e t h a t n o w o b t a i n s . S e c t i o n 5 7 o f A c t V I . o f 1 8 7 3
gives this power to the Municipality, and it should be at once put into force.
As has been stated, there are now only 7,000 privies in Poona, and it becomes
a great question whether any more should be erected. If there were a sufficient
number of public necessaries in each quarter of the town, such an arrangement
would be safer for the public health than ordering, in an unsewered town, a large
number of private privies to be built. If, however, permission to erect these is
given, they should be built according to a standard plan, which should insist on
perfect isolation by an air-space, of at least 3 feet wide all round, between the
house and the privy. The seat and shaft for the ordure to drop down should
be of glazed stoneware, which might be procured from England, and which
would be much cheaper, I believe, than the cut-stone slabs which I have seen
used. Chunam is most objectionable, because, when urine falls on it, chem
- i c a l c h a n g e s a r e s e t u p w h i c h p r o m o t e i t s p u t r e f a c t i v e d e c o m p o s i t i o n s , a n d
fetid ammoniacal products are given off. An inspection of the City show that
the usual form of houses in Poona consists of a main building, facing the road,
whilst at the back is an open courtyard which adjoins that of the opposite
property. In the main market streets and thoroughfares, such as in Bhudwar
and Aditwar peths, the privies are situated in these back yards, and the sweep
- e r s o b t a i n a c c e s s t o t h e m t h r o u g h g u l l i e s , b u t i n o t h e r p e t h s t h e p r i v i e s a r e
inside the houses, and they are cleaned from trap doors opening into the main
streets, close, in many cases, to the entrance doors of the houses. A. more objec
- t i o n a b l e p l a n c o u l d n o t e a s i l y h a v e b e e n d e v i s e d , e s p e c i a l l y a s t h e r e a r e b u t f e w
with drains to carry away the ablution water and urine. The Municipal Com
-missioners should insist on all such privies being removed to the back court
-yards, and access being given to the sweeper by means of a paved gully com
- m u n i c a t i n g w i t h a s e w e r .
22. It becomes, then, a matter of importance to calculate the amount of
nightsoil and urine that will have to be daily collected. In a mixed population.
of all ages and both sexes we may assume 2.5 ounces of fœces and 40 ounces
of urine as the daily amount of solid and fluid excreta produced per head of
population. In Poona the population is 90,436; there would consequently be
Fœces ounces.
90,436 x 2.5=226,090 ozs.
14,130 lbs. fœces passed per diem.
6.3 tons.
In the same way there would be—
urine ozs.
90,436 x 40=3,617,440 ozs.
226,090 lbs.
100.5 tons.
But with the system of bamboo baskets, generally placed below the seat in India,
Mr. Lumsdaine and others consider that at least 4/5 of the amount of urine
voided must be rejected, as representing the inevitable soakage and what passes
off by drains, &c., so that for collection and removal there would remain only
1 / 5 o f t h e f l u i d e x c r e t a , a m o u n t i n g , i n t h e c a s e o f P o o n a , t o 2 0 t o n s : a n d o f u r i n e
and solid matter together there would thus be 26 to 30 tons to be carried away
every day.
23. The objectionable condition of the present manure pits has already
been mentioned; and as an immediate measure, and one that would obviate much
B 221-3 b