102
15. The Municipality of Karachi, the Karachi Cantonment Committee, and all the
officers and servants of that Municipality and of that Committee, and all public servants and
all persons employed by the Committee, shall carry into effect, without delay, any mea-
sures which may be ordered by the Committee.
16. On the requisition of the Committee, the District Superintendent of Police,
Karachi, shall give such assistance as may be necessary in order to enforce immediate com-
pliance with any order of the Committee.
17. The principal occupant of a house or building, or the principal surviving member
of a family, shall give immediate information to the Secretary of the Municipality or Can-
tonment, within the limits of which the house or building is situated, of the occurrence in
the house or building, or amongst the members of the family, of—
(a) any sickness due or likely to be due to plague,
(b) any death, whatever may be the cause of it.
18. On receipt of information of any death, the Secretary shall immediately register
the death and give the informant a certificate that the death has been registered.
19. It shall not be lawful to carry any corpse to the place of cremation or burial
unless the bearers are in possession of a certificate given under Rule 18 that the death has
been registered. In the event of a corpse being carried in contravention of this rule, all per-
sons acting under the orders of the Committee, and all policemen on duty, are empowered ta
demand the name, sex, age, caste and residence of the deceased, and to detain one of the
funeral party until the information is truly given.
20. All expenses incurred in carrying out any of the measures hereby authorized
shall, in the first instance, be paid out of the Municipal funds of the Municipality of
Karachi and the Karachi Cantonment Fund, in such proportions as the Committee may
determine; but the Committee may recover from any person any amount which such person
would, under similar circumstances, be liable to pay to either the said Municipality, or to
the Cantonment Committee, under any law for the time being in force.
21. The powers conferred upon the Committee by these rules may be exercised by
such persons as they may from, time to time empower in this behalf. All persons so
empowered will, however, act subject to the conditions of the Committee.
22. Disobedience to any orders issued under these rules by the Committee, or any
person acting under their authority, will subject the offender to a prosecution under
Section 188 of the Indian Penal Code."
3. The report of this Committee will be separately published, but extracts
therefrom are quoted below.
4. The Chairman of the Committee makes the following remarks regard-
ing the first measures taken :
" On the Plague Committee assuming charge of the administration, it must be allowed, in
common justice to the Municipality, that they had made stringent efforts to fight with the
disease. Various portions of the town had been cleared of its inhabitants and the people located in
camps, and every effort made to cleanse and disinfect the ' infected areas ' of the city : special
attention being given to conservancy and all the streets, houses, alleys, courts, &c., of which the
city is composed, thoroughly cleaned and looked after. Hospitals and segregation camps
were arranged for and built in the ' Trans-Lyari ' quarter, and stringent measures taken to
alleviate matters.
On assuming charge of the organization and administration of the City, Sadar Bazar,
Cantonments and the outlying villages, &c., in the Trans-Lyari, the first steps taken by the
Plague Committee were to re-divide the town into ten divisions, each division under a special-
ly appointed Superintendent and subordinate staff—European soldiers and specially selected
native officials, to arrange for more Medical officers, whose services were urgently required, and
to add to the conservancy establishment, which was known to be quite inadequate for the work
required, and which had been depleted by death and the desertion of the sweepers from, fear of
the plague."
5. Regarding the work of military search parties the following paragraphs
are extracted from the Chairman's report :
" The Committee generally decided to search a division of the town where most cases of the
plague had been reported. Confidential orders -were issued to the troops and to the Superinten-
dent of the special division, who was requested to state the number of search parties required,
viz. 4, 6 or 8, as the case might be: other Superintendents, Medical officers and medical sub-
ordinates were warned, as a Superintendent, Medical officer or subordinate always accompanied
each search party, as well as the officers in command.
The Superintendent of the division searched was answerable for the following arrange-
ments : extra dhoolies, if required, picks, red paint and brushes, hammers, lanterns, &c. Also a
plan of his division made out into different portions for the use of the other Superintendents
assisting in the search.