NationalLibraryOfScotland/medical-history-of-british-india huggingface dataset:
ΤΗΑΝΑ DISTRICT.]
189
Bháyndar.
Population—2,697.
Bháyndar is a village on the extreme north of the Sálsebte Táluka 011 the B. B. & C. I.
Railway and on the creek that separates the Sálsette and
Bassein Tálukas. The normal population is about 2,700, but
every year there is a large influx of men engaged in the
various salt-works in the neighbourhood. The second epidemic began here with 2 cases in
the week ending 25th February 1898 and ended on the 29th May 1898.
The source of infection could not be definitely traced, but the first cases occurred in
houses in which there had been plague during the previous epidemic, though in the
meanwhile they had been disinfected. The whole of the village was evacuated by the
middle of March, but the stealthy visits paid by the evicts to their houses kept the disease
alive. The following are the monthly figures :—
Month.
February ...
March ...
April ...
May ...
...
...
...
...
Total ...
Cases.
2
25
51
7
85
Deaths.
2
19
33
8
62
Utan.
Population—3,147-
Utan is a fishing village which lies between Dongri and Gorái. During the first
epidemic this village practically escaped, only one imported
and one indigenous case having been discovered ; but during
the second epidemic indigenous cases numbered 92 and deaths
72. The first case occurred about the 28th December 1897. Infection in this instance
was most probably due to importation from Bombay through the men engaged in the fruit
and vegetable trade with that city, which is of considerable magnitude, and was never put
a stop to. The village was evacuated by the middle of January, but cases continued
occurring until the end of March, mostly due, as in other places, to surreptitious visits to
the evacuated houses. The subjoined statement gives the monthly number of cases and
deaths :—
Months.
January ...
February ...
March ...
...
...
Total...
Cases.
36
27 28
91
Deaths.
32
26
23
81
Thána District.
The town of Thána practically escaped during the second epidemic ; in the District
66 villages were infected. The measures adopted throughout
the District were alike : being briefly evacuation, segregation
48
190
[CHAP. VII.
of contacts, and disinfection of houses. The following statement shows the numbers of
cases and deaths throughout the whole District during the second epidemic :—
Months.
August 1897...
September ,, ...
October ,, ...
November ,, ...
December
January 1898...
February ,, ...
March ,, ...
April ,, ...
May ,, ...
...
...
...
...
... •
Total...
Cases.
33
100
74
30
79
93
141
279
472
254
1, 555
Deaths.
27
76
52
24
58
69
116
213
352
208
1,195
Third Epidemic (June 1898—June 1899).—The termination of the second epidemic
in the District coincided with the commencement of the third ; there being hardly any
break : Bhiwndi being the first place to fall.
Bhwndi.
Population—14,387.
The town of Bhiwndi, which, after passing through a very virulent outbreak in 1897,
managed, except for occasional sporadic cases, to maintain a
tolerably clean bill of health from the beginning of May 1897,
was attacked for the second time in the weekending 15th
April 1898, and went through an exceptionally severe epidemic.
There is no clear history of either a recrudescence or re-infection, but probably the
disease was lurking in the town and had passed unnoticed. Consequent on the 1898
monsoon breaking early in June, recourse to evacuation had to be abandoned, but the
Collector, Mr. B. P. Barrow, I. C. S., finding the people somewhat uneasy as to the
suppressive measures to be adopted, went personally to Bhiwndi and made the following
arrangements in consultation with the heads of the various communities there :—
"Hospital accommodation was at once provided, various dharmshálas, school-houses
and other buildings were taken up as contact segregation camps for special classes, while
two camps, one at either end of the town, were erected for the use of the lower classes,
Mahomedan and Hindu. Sheds made of bamboo matting and jawlis were found to be
fairly water-tight, the great difficulty being that of obtaining a dry floor, and to get over
this, floors of split bamboos were tried."
Disinfection and untiling of houses, where cases occurred, were carried on. All attempts
to introduce inoculation failed. It is noteworthy that the southern portion of the Municipal
Town known as Nizámpur remained unaffected up to the middle of July, although inter-
course between Bhiwndi and Nizámpur was quite unrestricted.
Lieut.-Colonel Hay, I.S.O., was sent to Bhiwndi immediately after he made over charge
of the Kalyán detention camp. A Hospital Assistant aided him. Later on, however,
it became necessary to apply for additional medical aid, which arrived in July 1898 in the
persons of Drs. Hill and Dalai, Assistant Surgeon Pettigara, and three other Hospital
Assistants. All efforts, however, proved fruitless, and the disease rapidly grew worse.
The climax was now reached, and whether owing to the measures which continued to
be carried on with rare energy and perseverance, or to other causes, the figures steadily
THANA DISTRICT.]
191
declined, and by the end of October the epidemic was at an end. The following were the
monthly
figures:—
Month.
April
1898
May
"
June
"
August
"
September "
October
"
Total
Cases.
18
60
59
490
881
270
11
1,789
Deaths.
14
43
39
322
627
200
14
1,259
BHIWNDI
Population 14,387
Kalyán.
Population—11,685.
While plague was fast depopulating Bhiwndi, the town of Kalyán, which is situated
in the neighbourhood of Bhiwndi and at the point of junction
of the two branches of the G. I. P. Railway, was defending
192
[CHAP. VII.
itself against infection, but at length, after having been free of plague from January 1898,
succumbed in August of the same year.
A few imported cases were discovered in July, but the week ending 15th August 1898
marked the beginning of a third epidemic. Slow at first in assuming serious proportions,
the disease gradually increased, till, towards the end of December, plague began in earnest,
and reached its highest point in the week ending 13th January 1899, when 47 cases with
39 deaths were recorded. Thenceforward it gradually subsided, and disappeared finally in
April, the following numbers of cases and deaths having been recorded :—
Period.
August to November 1898
December 1898 ... ...
January 1899... ...
February to March 1899
...
...
Total ...
Cases.
43
55
138
53
289
Deaths.
35
45
115
50
245
Evacuation of infected houses and quarters was effected whenever possible with satis-
factory results, but the progress of the disease was unfortunately much aided by the hostile
attitude of the people to the segregation of contacts.
ßassein
Population—11,291-
The town of Bassein, which passed through a protracted outbreak during the preceding-
epidemic, was again to suffer during the third epidemic. The
second outbreak at Bassein had commenced so early as
December 1897, and although a year had passed, plague was still there in spite of great
efforts. In August and September 1898 the figures had declined, and when for three weeks
no case occurred, every hope was entertained that the end had come. But in November
cases began to occur again in the Bhandárwáda—always a bad quarter. The Koliwáda and
Bhandárwada were at once evacuated, and the measures previously in force were continued,
but without much apparent effect. This outbreak lasted up to the middle of April 1899,
but reached its worst point in the first week in February of that year, during which 30 cases
and 27 deaths were recorded. Below are the figures for the third epidemic in this place :—
Period.
November and December 1898 ... ...
January
189
February
,,
March
,,
April
„
3...
...
...
...
...
Total ...
Cases.
83
82
77
74
29
345
Deaths.
62
72
72
72
26
304
Evacuation was in high favour with the people of this town, as will be seen from the
fact that the Koliwáda and Bhandárwáda sections were both vacated early in November, and
by the middle of December it was estimated that about half the population of Bassein had
moved out into sheds of their own accord. Bassein is conspicuous for the complete absence
of assistance from private persons or Municipal Commissioners in carrying out plague
measures : as also for the low percentage of mortality, considering the protracted duration
of the epidemic ; this last being probably due to the large extent to which the town was
evacuated.
ΤΗΑΝΛ DISTRICT.]
193
Thána.
Population— 17,455.
Thána. the head-quarter station of the District, escaped rather lightly in the first two
epidemics, but suffered somewhat severely in the third, the
source of infection being undoubtedly importation from
Bombay. With the exception of a few sporadic cases now and then, this town was really
free from the cessation of the first visitation in May 1897 up to July 1898, when a fresh
outbreak began, which lasted up to October ; the worst month being August, when there
were 90 cases. The Mahráttas suffered most heavily. Cases occurred during this epidemic
in 45 houses in which they occurred in 1897-98, and in 94 fresh houses in the immediate
vicinity thereof: although found in some cases, dead rats were not so numerous as in previous
years. A Plague Hospital and Contact Camp did good work all through the year, but there
was no Observation Camp. Infected houses were disinfected and untiled as usual. Here
too evacuation was freely resorted to by the people, who even in the rains readily went out
into sheds in the outskirts of the town of their own accord, the poorer classes being encour-
aged to do so by the free gift of hutting materials provided from a fund raised locally for
the purpose. It is noteworthy that not one of 201 persons who were inoculated by the
Acting Civil Surgeon, was subsequently attacked by plague. The following are the
monthly figures for the epidemic in Thána Town :—
Months.
August
1898
September „
October
,,
...
...
...
...
...
...
Total ...
Cases.
90
78
28
196
Deaths.
62
57
29
148
Bándra.
Population—18,759.
Yet another outbreak occurred in Bándra. From the beginning of June 1898 to the
middle of May 1899 this suburb was never free from plague.
The outbreak, which began early in June, resulted in 175
cases up to the beginning of September, after which it greatly
subsided ; but from the beginning of January 1899 the figures again rose, the disease con-
tinuing till the middle of May. (This outbreak, curiously enough, appears to have com-
menced in a hut built on the site of an old one, which, having produced the first case in
1896, was burnt down.) By the 15th of January 1899 cases were being discovered all over
Bándra, and it could not be said that any particulur localities were more especially affected.
Doctor D'Monte, the Vice-Président of the Municipality, took charge of all arrangements.
Evacuation was voluntarily adopted by the inmates of all the numerous small villages which
go to make up Bándra : even Dánda, the fishing hamlet, with its population of close on
5,000 sturdy and self-willed fishermen, was cleared out without trouble by Dr. D'Monte
with the aid of one of the Municipal Commissioners, Mr. Motirám Patel. A good many
cases occurred in the sheds to which the evicts were removed, and it was due to this that
even with considerable evacuation the returns continued heavy. Wherever possible, these
huts were burned down and the occupants removed to other huts. The sick were carried
to a hospital built at Khar, a suburb of Bándra ; but where this was objected to, patients
49
194
[CHAP. VII.
were allowed to be treated in their own huts outside the town, and were even allowed to be
treated in their own houses in cases in which suitable arrangements could be made for the
purpose. The markets were removed to an open place and notification of attacks and
deaths was made compulsory. By these means the outbreak was eventually controlled.
The following statement shows the monthly numbers of cases and deaths :—
Months.
January 1899
February ,,
March
,,
April
„
May ,,
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
Total ...
Cases.
47
96
126
85
32
386
Deaths.
38
80
110
72
29
329
Throughout the rest of the District the third epidemic affected no less than 149 villages,
of which 77 were unaffected during the previous epidemic. The villages comprising the
Sálsette and Bassein Tálukas were affected all the year through, with scarcely a break ; of
the other Tálukas, Bhiwndi suffered most during the rains, Kalyán during the cold weather,
Máhim, Dáhánu and Murbad at the end of the cold and the beginning of the hot weather.
The following are the figures for the villages :—
Months.
July
1898
August ,,
September ,,
October „
November „
December
January 1899
February „
March
,,
April ,,
May ,,
June
,,
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
Tota
...
...
...
...
...
...
..
...
1 ...
Gases.
170
152
103
76
75
115
273
594
1,055
626
255
30
3,524
Deaths.
140
127
88
71
59
86
215
467
883
503
214
21
2,874
Disinfection with chemicals was early discontinued, as it was found unsatisfactory in
the hands of any but skilled men, untiling and increased ventilation being found good
substitutes. Evacuation, which met with much voluntary adoption throughout the District,
was found to be one of the most reliable and successful measures taken to suppress the
disease, but inoculation was not popular.
195
CHAPTER VIII.
THE CENTRAL DIVISION.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
AHMEDNAGAR
KHANDESH
NASIK ...
POONA ...
SATARA ...
SHOLAPUR
...
...
......
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
......
...
... ...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
···...
...
...
...
...
...
PAGES
... 197 to 205
... 207 to 213
... 215 to 222
... 223 to 239
... 241 to 256
... 257 to 268
197
AHMEDNAGAR DISTRICT.
Area ... ... ...
Population in 1891
Density of population
Rain-fall ... ...
...6,645 sq. miles.
...888,755.
...134 per sq. mile.
...21 inches.
Boundaries.
The boundaries of the Ahmednagar District are roughly as follows :—north-west and
north, Násik ; north-east, east, and south-east, Nizam's territory ;
south, Sholápur ; south-west, Poona: west, Thána.
Climate and natural
features.
The climate is on the whole good. From November to February the air is dry and
invigorating. From February to May a hot dry wind blows, which
is followed by sultry weather, lasting till the bursting of the monsoon
towards the end of June, when the climate again becomes temperate and pleasant.
Partly owing to the absence of trees, partly to the ruined condition of so many village
walls, partly also to the geological conformation of the hills, the general aspect of the open
country of Ahmednagar is desolate. The soil is of three sorts —black, red, and grey. The
whole District forms part of the great ''trap" region of the Deccan. It is drained by two
chief rivers—the Godávari and the Bhima, draining the north and south respectively—and is
well watered by these and numerous tributaries.
Previous epidemics.
There is no authentic record of plague in Ahmednagar previous
to 1896. *
Protective measures in the
Ahmednagar District.
September 1896.
First Epidemic (September 1897—March, 1898).—Precautions against the plague began
in Ahmednagar as early as September 1896, and before Mr. F. L.
Charles, I. C. S., gave over charge of the District in March 1897,
suitable local regulations had been framed, a Plague Hospital had
been arranged, and an excellent Observation Camp had been established at the Railway
Station. Forty-eight imported cases (32 fatal) occurred in the Ahmednagar District from
the middle of December 1896 to the beginning of April 1897, from which time up to August
1897, plague had not re-appeared ; nor, at first, did the adjacent Districts constitute a
menace to its safety. With the outbreak at Sirur (July 1897) this immunity ceased to exist,
and imported cases began to occur with increasing frequency at Hingani, Rahuri, Sangam-
uer, Chichondi, and Nagar Town—the first imported case occurring at Hingani on the 3rd
August 1897, and from this date to the 17th of September 1897, 24 imported cases
(18 fatal) occurred in all.
Ahmednagar Town.
Population—36,031.
So far there had been no case of indigenous plague in either Town or District, and
every effort was put forth to prevent its obtaining a footing. With
this object representations were made to the Sirur authorities ; regis-
tration and medical examination of all arrivals (whether by road or rail) from Bombay,
Kirkee, Sirur, and Igatpuri was instituted ; the cleansing and better sanitation of Nagar
Town was taken in hand, and the preparation of the Siddhi Bágh Hospital was pushed
forward.
* Bombay Gazetteer, Vol. XVII.
50
200
[CHAP. VIII.
AHMEDNAGAR—POPULATION, 36,000.
Week ending
5th November
1897
12th " "
19th " "
26th " "
3rd December "
10th " "
17th " "
24th " "
31st " "
7th January
1898
14th
"
"
21st " "
Cases.
1
5
5
10
7
12
34
16
21
30
42
37
Deaths.
1
3
3
8
6
8
29
12
18
20
39
36
Week ending
25th January
1898
4th February "
11th " "
18th " "
25th " "
4th March "
11th " "
18th " "
25th " "
Total
Cases.
21
10
21
15
7
4
6
3
3
310
Deaths.
17
11
18
13
8
2
7
2
3
264
AHMEDNAGAR TOWN.
On the 20th December, Lieutenant R. W. Boger, R.A., and one Officer and 20 men of
the East Yorkshire Regiment were sent to the Collector for plague duty, and the work of
unroofing, disinfecting, and general sanitation proceeded apace; and from this time the num-
ber of cases steadily declined. Further measures were now enforced to prevent the disease
spreading into the District. Police guards were posted at the Sina Bridge, Sávedi, Shendi,
and at eight other road stations, to prevent persons suffering from plague being carried out of
the Town. The Collector endeavoured in every way to lighten the burden of plague measures
for the people. Special passes were issued to shopkeepers, so that business might not cease.
Owners were permitted to open up their own houses if situated in a non-infected locality. But
this last concession proved a means for the people to render nugatory this important step, for
the Collector reports:—
"But this did not prove an unqualified success. At first they were all willing to do what
was required of them; but with exceptions (notably in Ward V, where the work was, as a whole,
well done) the holes made for ventilation were well below the size prescribed, rooms were in
many cases left quite unventilated, rags and filthy clothing were locked into cupboards or other-
wise secreted, and in some cases were deliberately built into corners
In few cases
were even doors and window-shutters left open, often these had to be torn off to prevent the
owners shutting them, and this, too, where there was no property or money stored. . . ."
204
[CHAP. VIII.
And by the end of December the number of cuses had fallen to 1. But the disease
did not at once die out as expected, for straggling cases continued to occur. This is
attributed by the Collector to people constantly returning to the town :—
"It soon became apparent, however, that plague could not be altogether checked
unless all communication ceased with the infected town ; and all our energies were directed
towards this end. Gradually, by the grant of some aid, partly from plague and partly from
charitable funds, weavers and other artisans were persuaded to erect their workshops out-
side the village. A site was also chosen and fitted up for the weekly bazár. There a large
Camp or market was erected, and all the merchants and shopkeepers induced to open their
shops and offices in that Camp. In this way, by the end of January, the town had been quite
emptied and all communication forbidden
....
By the 15th January
1898 plague had practically disappeared."
The total numbers of the attacks and deaths, as given by Mr. Ghosal, who was on the
spot, were 189—118. " Even then," he states, "probably many plague cases have been
excluded." The largest weekly number of eases in Ahmednagar District was reported
during the week ending 18th December 1897, being 108.
Twenty-three towns and villages were attacked in all during this epidemic, excluding
Nagar Town, Cantonments, and the Station. In 33 other villages imported cases of plague
occurred. In several villages evacuation was spontaneously resorted to by the people before the
occurrence of cases, and they escaped very lightly. Nagardewalá (1,106) and Athwád (436) are
instances, and escaped with 9 cases each. Pendshet is a curious example, of which the Collector
gives the following description: —
". . . . at Pendshet, a little hill village in Akola with a population of 183, spontaneous
evacuation stopped an outbreak of which nothing was known to the authorities until it had
ceased, after accounting for 18 lives—10 per cent. of the population."
The monthly plague mortality for Nagar Town and District throughout the epidemic
was as follows :—
Month and year.
September 189
October
,,
November ,,
December
,,
January 1898
February
„
March
„
April ,,
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
Total
..
...
...
..
..
..
..
...
AHMEDNAGAR. DISTRICT
(excluding Nagar Town).
Popolation - 852,724.
Cases.
21
155
136
205
76
83
60
...
736
Deaths.
13
106
83
164
67
68
46
...
547
AHMKDNAGAK TOWN.
Population— 36,031.
Cases.
8
2
21
90
180
53
16
]
321
Deaths.
G
...
15
73
112
50
14
2
272
On the 30th December 1897, Mr. C. W. M. Hudson, I.C.S., relieved Mr. A. F. Woodburn,
I.C.S., as Collector.
AHMEDNAGAR DISTRICT.]
205
From the end of April to the end of August 1898, the disease disappeared ; but since the
3nd of August 1898 there has been plague in the District, as will be observed from the table
below, but there has been no prolonged epidemic of any magnitude anywhere : a result
apparently due, in a great measure, to the prompt measures taken to suppress an outbreak
as soon as it occurred, evacuation being principally resorted to : —
Month and Tear.
August 1898
September „
October
„
November „
December „
January 1899
February „
March
„
April
„
May
„
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
..
...
...
...
...
...
Total
...
...
...
..
...
...
...
...
AHMEDNAGAE DISTRICT
(excluding Nagar Town).
Cases.
1
3
4
26
71
26
28
18
2
13
198
Deaths.
1
3
2
11
60
16
19
15
2
11
140
AHMEDNAGAR TOWN.
Cases.
...
7
8
1
...
10
18
7
3
54
Deaths.
...
7
5
1
...
8
14
6
2
43
Since the severe outbreak at Poona in Jane, July, and August 1899, however,
Ahmednagar Town and District have both become badly infected, as the following
figures show :—
Month and Year.
June 1899
July ,,
August „
September 1899
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
··
DISTRICT
(Including Town.)
Cases.
14
43
409
1,166
Deaths.
11
28
310
798
TOWN.
Cases.
...
2
98
908
Deaths.
...
1
81
654
Note.—Imported plague has been omitted.