46
SECTION 9.
Plague in the Mofussil in December and January.
1. In the beginning of December Bàndra, a town in the Thàna District,
but virtually a suburb of Bombay, was attacked, and it is probable that Kurla,
a neighbouring town, which like Bàndra is only separated from Bombay by a
causeway, was infected about the same time, though indigenous cases were con-
cealed and only a few cases classed as imported at first came to the notice of the
authorities. Eight indigenous cases were also reported from Bhiwndi in the
Thàna District in December and two from Poona City, but the imported cases
increased considerably, and in the course of December no less than 38, 21, 25,
24 and 11 cases were discovered in the Ahmedabad, Surat, Thana, Ratnagiri and
Kolàba districts, respectively, besides a few in various other parts of the country.
In January the spread of indigenous plague in the Mofussil was much .more serious.
The disease was widespread in Karachi and was beginning to be severely epidemic
in the city of Poona. In the three towns Bàndra, Kurla and Bhiwndi, already
mentioned, in the Thàna District, the cases were numerous and the beginning of
the estensive s pread which occurred later on in the Sàlsette Island of this district
was marked by the appearance of the first indigenous cases in Thana City and in
the village of Bhaynder. A few cases were reported from 2 villages in Sàtàra, 1
in Sholapur, 3 in Ratnagiri, 2 in Cutch, 1 in Karachi, and 1 in Hyderabad. The
single case reported in January from Bulsàr was the first sign of the severe
epidemic which subsequently ravaged the Surat District. In this month too
the cases classed as imported increased rapidly in numbers, owing to the panic
and the exodus from Bombay and other plague-stricken places. Of these cases
in the course of the month 24 were detected in the Ahmedabad District, 15 in
Kaira, 4 in Broach, 40 in Surat, 60 in Thàna, 4 in Ahmednagar, 6 in Khàndesh,
2 in Nàsik, 24 in Sàtàra, 2 in Sholapur, 20 in Kolàba, 67 in Ratnagiri, 33 in
Baroda, 16 in Kàthiàwar, 2 in Kolhàpur, 38 in Cutch and 54 in the villages of
the Sind districts of Karachi and Hyderabad.
2. The measures taken in the Mofussil in this period were for the most
part merely an extension of measures taken in the period dealt with in Chapter
I. Powers to take action for the isolation, &c., of plague patients were conferred
by the Commissioners under Section 73 of the District Municipal Act on cer-
tain additional Municipalities including Surat, Bulsàr, Dhulia and Bhusàval.
There was a large increase in the number of local inspection posts, but though
as far as possible medical subordinates were employed, the scarcity of these
officers rendered it necessary in many cases that inspection should be undertaken
by the police or by inspectors who were not medical men. The new inspection
posts thus established included posts at the ports in the Ratnagiri and Kolaba
districts, Màndvi and other ports in Cutch and the ports of Bhavnagar, Pore-
bandar, Bedi, Jorya, Salaya, Veràval, and Mangrol in Kathiàwàr and that of
Gogò in Ahmedabad; and new local inspections of railway passengers were in-
stituted at Ankleshvar and Pàlej in the Broach District, at Bulsàr in Surat, at
Yeola and Màlegaon in Nàsik, at Indi Road, Bijàpur and Bagalkot in Bijàpur,
at Sàngli Road, Miraj, Shirol and Kolhàpur in the Kolhàpur State, at 4 stations
in the Kaira District and at certain places in Kathiàwàr and Cufcch. In the
Poona District the inspecting staff at Poona station was increased and an inspection
was instituted at Lonàvli and Kirkee. Arrangements for sheds and other places
of segregation were made at numerous places including Bulsàr in the Surat
District, Dhulia and Bhusa"val in Khàndesh, Anldeshwaf and Pale] in Broach,
Sàngli, Miraj and Kolhàpur in the Kolhàpur State, three towns in Nàsik and
all the Ratnagiri ports. At Kalyàn a new shed was erected in place of the
previous one which had been burnt down. At Poona and Kirkee special plague
hospitals were erected and a new hospital was in course of erection in the former
city. The other measures taken consisted for the most part of improvements
of the general sanitary arrangements and the issue of circular orders to Gov-
ernment officers and of advice to Municipalities. 1he appended instructions
marked A prepared by the Sanitary Commissioner were widely circulated on
the 14th January, and on the 23rd January the Surgeon-General recommended
the circulation of the instructions marked Β prepared at his request by
Ur. Childe. These were widely circulated by Government on the 27th January.