5
been formed by making an embankment across two small nullahs. There is no
record to show the date when this was originally done, but I am informed by
Major Mathew, R. E., the Executive Engineer, that the tank was rebuilt in 1830.
At this present time when it is drying up owing to the failure of the mon-
soon, it does not cover an area of more I am informed than 3 1/6 acres, but when
full it is said to have a surface area of 68 acres. The bottom of the tank has
silted up and there is now a depth of many feet of mud containing decomposing
organic matter. Nearly all the surface of the exposed portion is now covered
with a cake of dried weeds which emits a fetid smell, and below which aquatic
plants are again beginning to germinate. I am glad to hear that the Cantonment
Committee has decided in spending Rs. 5,000 allowed by Government as a
Famine Relief Fund in scraping the exposed surface of this tank and in remov-
ing the layer of dried weeds and the earth below it for a depth of about 6 inches
and in pulling up the weeds from the part still covered with water. The mud
in my opinion should be excavated to a depth of at least 3 feet, and I would
gladly see the greater part of the balance, standing to the credit of the Can-
tonment Fund as per statement appended to this report spent in effecting this
object. Major Mathew informs me that the year before last, he repaired the
masonry work and removed the old sluice gate which he found partly open below,
and that in his opinion at present no leakage whatever takes place through the
bund, but that the bottom of the tank itself is not water-tight and that the running
stream in the nullah below is due to the fact that the water infiltrates through
the bottom of the tank and thus escapes.
18. The ground immediately to the West of the embankment and between
it and the Moti Bagh is still a swamp and as marshy as it was in 1865, at the
time when Dr. Leith reported on it. The existence of this marsh immediately
to windward of the Cantonment is, in my opinion, extremely dangerous and should
be stopped, and I would suggest that the Executive Engineer be requested to
favor the Committee with his opinion whether it would be possible to drive a
puddle trench down to hard rock or to puddle its bottom surface so as to confine
the water in the tank. I cannot venture to offer an opinion whether this course
is financially possible, but the trench should be, if possible, on the tank side of
the embankment. Whether this course is feasible or not there can be no doubt
but that it is absolutely imperative under any circumstances that the marsh be-
- l o w i t s h o u l d b e e f f i c i e n t l y d r a i n e d . T h e e a r t h t r e n c h e s a t p r e s e n t c u t i n i t h a v e
been allowed to be overgrown with rank vegetation and the water does not
escape. They should be at once cleared out and cross drains should be cut
through the marsh to the intercepting arterial drains. There are two wells in
this marsh at which cattle are watered and in which the water is almost level
with the external ground surface. The watering of cattle at these places should,
in my opinion, be stopped as they stir up the mud and make the ground filthy.
19. There is also a tank here called the Lily Tank which has been lately
cleared out and which is situated below a Lingayet temple sacred to Rewun
Sidah which is much frequented by his devotees who after worshipping at the
temple sit and feast among the trees near the Lily Tank and the well from
which the Officers' and European residents' drinking water is drawn. Major
Mathew has done excellent service by blocking up the steps leading down into
this tank and has fitted it with 2 wheels and iron chains and buckets which are
used by the Lingayets, a fact which affords a happy answer to those who are
afraid to order this admirable and sensible innovation on account of caste pre-
- j u d i c e s . B e l o w t h e t a n k a n d f e d b y t h e o v e r f l o w f r o m i t i s t h e s w i m m i n g b a t h
formerly erected for the use of the soldiers of the artillery but recently handed
over by Government to the Cantonment Committee. Running water constantly
passes through it, and with the water from springs which are found in the nullah
forms a stream which flows through and past the Moti Bagh and so down the valley.