NationalLibraryOfScotland/medical-history-of-british-india huggingface dataset:
CHAP. VIII. 1 Measures in the Bombay Presidency and Sind. 191
in the Presidency proper for which a Committee was appointed,
whilst in Sind there were Committees for Karachi, Hyderabad, and
Sukkur and Rohri.
No Plague
Committees
in districts.
The Government of Bombay considered the question of appointing
Plague Committees for districts, but determined that it was best to
leave the control of the operations in the hands of the ordinary District
Executive Officers.
Constitution of
Committees.
The Committees had to deal with both a civil and a military popu-
lation, and the officers forming them were chosen from the Civil
Executive Officers of the Government, and from Military, Medical, and
Municipal Officers.
Rules.
Separate rules were published for each of the Committees; the
rules were the same in every case, except that some minor additions
were made to the Poona rules which were not reproduced in the Sind
rules. The rules for Poona are given at length in Appendix IV.
General rules on
certain subjects
reproduced.
They reproduce the general regulations on the subject of the
report of plague cases and the grant of death certificates; the
cleansing and disinfection or destruction of infected and insanitary
dwellings; and the payment of compensation. They also contain
provision similar to that made in the general rules for the search of
houses for plague cases and for the detention of persons found or
suspected to be suffering from plague.
Special rules.
The remaining principal provisions are to the following effect :—
General powers of the Committee.— The Committee are empowered
to exercise authority and control over the municipal and cantonment
establishments, and may increase those establishments. They may
suspend or temporarily rescind bye-laws and rules of the Municipality
or Cantonment. They may incur expenditure out of local funds, and
for this purpose they may control the general expenditure of the
Municipality or Cantonment.
They may occupy any vacant ground or building for the purpose
of military camps, segregation camps, hospitals, burial grounds,
warehouses, or offices. They may temporarily impress carts and other
vehicles and animals and labourers. The municipal and cantonment
authorities and servants are bound to carry out any measures ordered
by the Committee.
Segregation of the inmates of infected buildings.—If the Com-
mittee believe that a building is or has recently been occupied by
a sufferer from plague, or that a death suspected to be plague has
occurred in the building, they may cause the inmates to be segregated
in an appointed place for a period not exceeding ten days, and may
prohibit the use of the dwelling in the meanwhile.
192 Measures in the Bombay Presidency and Sind. [ CHAP. VIII
Disposal of corpses.—The Committee are empowered to make
regulations for enforcing burial in certain places or at a certain
depth, and for requiring quicklime to be placed with the corpse.
ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE RAINY SEASON.
Difficulty of
carrying out
measures during
the rains.
The rainy season of 1897, which may be said roughly to have lasted
from the middle of June until September, opposed the most serious
obstacles to the prosecution of the operations. The difficulty of all
out-door work is increased during the rains, but apart from this,
the whole of the system of work is based on the segregation of sick and
infected persons in specially provided shelter, whilst the large special
staffs have often to be accommodated in temporary structures erected
for the purpose.
Provision of
weather-proof
shelter in
the districts.
It is not a difficult matter to provide temporary shelter for sick
as well as for healthy persons, sufficient for their protection during
the dry season, but only substantial structures serve as an adequate
protection against the heavy rains of the monsoon months. To provide
such structures on the scale on which fair weather shelter had been
erected would have been an impossible task. Fortunately the early
part of the rains was the period when the disease was at its lowest
ebb, and the number of cases throughout the province was only about
fifty to sixty a day. The extensive arrangement of the previous months
were not therefore required. Nevertheless the difficulty, especially
during the later, period of the rains, when the number of cases
again began to increase, was severely felt. The Government of
Bombay reported that it was not possible to carry out the full mea-
sures of segregation which were recognized to be desirable.
The existence of the difficulty was recognized before the advent
of the rains, and such steps as were found possible were taken to meet
it. On the 9th of April the Surgeon-General with the Government of
Bombay reported that before the beginning of the rains alterations
would be required in the site and construction of many of the tem-
porary hospitals and segregation camps, which had been constructed
on low-lying lands and of materials which were not weather-proof. The
Government of Bombay directed the local administrative and executive
officers to take up the matter without delay and, after consulting
the medical and engineering officers, to submit detailed and
practical schemes for sanction. The later records show that these
orders were extensively carried out, but, as has been stated above, it
was not possible to provide substantial structures containing the
enormous accommodation which was supplied by the fair weather
erections.
CHAP. VIII.] Measures in the Bombay Presidency and Sind. 193
Suspension of
the U. H. H.
system in the
City of Bombay,
Caution in
destroying
dwellings in the
districts.
A similar difficulty arose with respect to the destruction of in-
sanitary or infected huts. In the preceding chapter it has been
noticed how the " U. H. H." scheme for the demolition of dwellings
in the City of Bombay had to be deferred on the approach of
the rains. Before the end of March the difficulty was recognised in
the districts. On the 23rd of that month the Commissioner of the
Northern Division reminded his officers that the rainy season was only
three months distant and directed them to bear this matter in mind in
ordering the destruction of huts. The Commissioner stated that the
owner of the destroyed dwelling should be provided with a site and
materials for the construction of a new abode, and that if destitute, he
should also be given a little money. If it was found impossible to
arrange for the erection of a new dwelling, the house was only to be
unroofed and exposed to the air and light for a couple of months.
These orders were communicated by the Government of Bombay to
the Commissioner in Sind and to the Commissioners of the other two
Divisions.
INCIDENCE OF EXPENDITURE.
Two matters connected with the incidence of expenditure came
under the special consideration of the Government of India, namely,
the general allocation of expenditure between Local Funds and General
Revenues, and the allocation of the expenditure in connection with
the inspection of the railway traffic between Railway Administrations
and the Government.
Allocation of
expenditure
between Local
Funds and
General
Revenues.
It is in accordance with the general financial system of the Indian
Government that local expenditure on the preservation of the public
health, such as expenditure on cleansing, disinfection, and similar
matters, should be met by Local Funds, that is to say, by the revenues
of local bodies, such as Municipal Corporations in towns, and Dis-
trict Boards in rural areas, within the scope of whose functions such
matters ordinarily lie. In accordance with this principle the Govern-
ment of Bombay issued the following two resolutions on the 18th of
March:—
" It is the intention of Government that expenditure should be
borne as far as possible by Local and Municipal Boards. If any
money is, however, required for urgent expenditure that cannot be
provided speedily from Local or Municipal Funds, the Collector*
may incur expenditure within the amounts mentioned by him, and
Government will afterwards decide whether recovery shall be made
from the Local Boards or Municipalities. "
* The Collector of Belgaum, who asked that a sum of Rs. 2,000 might be placed at
his disposal.
25
194 Measures in the Bombay Presidency and Sind. [ CHAP. VIII.
" Municipalities and Local Boards in areas already infected by
the plague, or which are likely to be so infected, are requested to
husband their resources and curtail their ordinary expenditure, in so
far as this is possible, in order that they may be in a position to meet
the emergent expenditure which the present crisis throws upon them."
Temporary
grants.
When sufficient sums were not at once available from Local
Revenues to meet the emergent expenditure, grants for the purpose
were made from General Revenues, the question of the recovery of
the amounts from Local Funds being deferred for future decision.
Rules of the
Government of
Bombay.
The general regulations of the Government of Bombay contain
rules for the incidence of expenditure within and without municipal
districts. In municipal districts expenditure is in the first instance,
if no other funds have been made specially available for the purpose,
to be defrayed out of Municipal Funds, but is recoverable from the
owner or occupier of the building under the procedure laid down in
the Municipal Act (Bombay Act VI of 1873). In rural areas outside
municipal districts the rules provide that the whole or any part of the
expenses of cleaning and disinfecting any building may be recovered
from the owner or occupier under the procedure laid down in Bombay
Act V of 1879 for the recovery of revenue. An appeal is permitted
to the District Magistrate whose orders are final.
Expenditure
incurred by
Plague
Committees.
The rules establishing Plague Committees in different towns direct
that expenditure shall, in the first place, be met from Municipal and
Cantonment Funds, but that the amount may be recovered from any
private person who would be liable if the expenditure had been incurred
under the ordinary law in force in the municipality or cantonment.
Allocation of
expenditure
between the
Government and
Railway
Administrations.
The question of the allocation of expenditure between the Gov-
ernment and Railway Administrations was settled by a resolution
issued by the Government of India, in the Public Works Department,
on the 22nd of May. It was stated that any expenditure incurred
by Railway Companies in providing sheds or other conveniences for
plague patients and travellers suspected to be suffering from
plague should be debited in the accounts of the Civil Department of
the Government. Also that while the Government relied on railway
companies for their cordial assistance, in so far as it could be given
by their regular medical and other staff, they considered that the cost
of additional staff should be met from Government revenues.
Expenditure in
the Bombay
Presidency
in 1896-97.
AMOUNT OF EXPENDITURE.
During the financial year 1896-97 the total direct expenditure on
measures for the prevention and suppression of plague in the Bombay
Presidency debited to Provincial Revenues was Rs. 1,13,899.
CHAP. VIII. ] Measures in the Bombay Presidency and Sind. 195
Estimate for
1897-98.
Estimate for
April and May
1897.
For the year 1897-98 sanction was given in a letter from the Govern-
ment of India, in the Finance Department, to the Government of Bombay,
dated the 28th of May, to expenditure being incurred on the suppres-
sion and prevention of plague up to a limit of five lakhs of rupees.
This was the limit asked for by the Government of Bombay in a letter
of the 6th May. That letter was based on an estimate of the prob-
able expenditure during the first two months of the financial year
(April and May). The estimate is interesting as affording an
indication of the scale and nature of the charges. It was as follows :—
Poona District
...
Karachi ,,
...
...
...
...
Hyderabad (Sind)
Thana and Surat ...
Other districts
...
...
TOTAL
Disinfectants
Examination of passengers by rail and sea
...
Salaries of special officers
TOTAL
Per month.
Rs.
73.000
50,000
25,000
17,000
10,000
1,77,000
8,000
10,000
18,000
36,000
Rs.
Total monthly expenditure
Rs.
1,77,000 + 36,000=2,13,000
Rs. 2,13,000 x 2=4,26,000
Add—Non-recurring expenditure for disinfectants for
Poona City and reserve
TOTAL
74,000
5,00,000
Revision of the
estimate for
1897-98 with
reference to the
recrudescence
of plague.
A portion of the expenditure was to be recovered from Local
Funds.
The recrudescence of plague made it necessary to incur ex-
penditure largely in excess of the original estimate of five lakhs. On
the 18th November 1897, the Government of Bombay reported that
the direct plague expenditure actually charged to the Government in
the financial year 1897-98 up to the 31st August amounted to Rs.
4,64,042. In addition advances aggregating Rs. 2,12,992 had been
made, but not debited to the proper head pending the submission of
detained bills, so that the total direct plague expenditure to be
charged to the Government, in the first instance up to the 31st August,
amounted to Rs. 6,77,034, and the total up to the middle of November
was estimated to amount to about Rs. 8,50,000. The Government of
Bombay estimated that the excess over five lakhs would be recovered
from local bodies. To meet the additional expenditure the Govern-
ment of Bombay asked that a further grant of five lakhs might be
196 Measures in the Bombay Presidency and Sind. [CHAP. VIII.
Loans under
the Local
Authorities
(Emergency)
Loans Act.
placed at their disposal, making a total of ten lakhs for the year
1897-98. In a letter of the 29th December the Government of India
sanctioned the incurring of expenditure up to a limit of ten lakhs during
the financial year 1897-98. In the same letter the Government of
India sanctioned an additional allotment of five lakhs of rupees for
loans to local bodies under the Local Authorities (Emergency) Loans
Act, XII of 1897. They stated that the loans should be made on the
stipulation that the principal would be repaid during the five years
from the 1st April 1900 to the 31st March 1905.
Sums advanced
by the Govern-
ment of Bombay
to Plague
Committees and
other authorities.
The following is a statement based on the available information
of the sums temporarily placed by the Government of Bombay at the
disposal of Plague Committees and other authorities up to the 19th of
July :—
Up to May 10th, 1897 ...
Up to May nth
April 29th
April 6lh
April 26th ...
April 26th ...
...
April 27th ...
April 30th ...
...
May 20th
...
...
June 14th ...
...
July 17th
July 10th ...
...
July 10th ...
...
TOTAL
...
Rs.
1,30,000 assigned for plague opera-
tions in Poona.
15,000 placed at the disposal of
the Collector of Thana.
25,000 placed at the disposal of
the Commissioner in
Sind.
30,000 placed at the disposal of
the Karachi Plague
Committee.
70,000 placed at the disposal of
the Karachi
Plague
Committee.
25,000 placed at the disposal of
the Hyderabad Plague
Committee.
15,000 placed at the disposal of
the Collector of Kolaba.
5,000 placed at the disposal of
the Collector of Shikar-
pur.
15,000 advanced to the Sukkur
Municipality.
30,000 placed at the disposal of
the Karachi Plague
Committee.
30,000 placed at the disposal of
the Karachi
Plague
Committee.
62,000 placed at the disposal of
the Poona Plague Com-
mittee.
25,000 placed at the disposal of
the Collector of Kolaba.
4,77,000
CHAP. VIII.] Measures in the Bombay Presidency and Sind. 197
Loans under the
Local Authorities
(Emergency)
Loans Act.
The following is a statement of the loans sanctioned by the
Government of India under the Local Authorities (Emergency) Loans
Act, 1897, for plague operations in municipalities :—
Date of sanction.
21st May
...
...
25th May
31st May
I 7th June
30th June
...
...
2nd September
...
26th October
26th October
...
...
Name of municipality.
Poona
...
Bulsar
...
Karachi
...
Rander
..,
Sukkur
...
...
Sholapur
...
Ahmednagar
...
Thana
...
...
TOTAL
Amount of loan.
Rs.
25,000
5,000
1,00,000
5,000
1,00,000
5,000
37,200
10,000
2,87,200
The loans all bear interest at the rate of 4 per cent.
On the 18th November the Government of Bombay had under
consideration the grant of other loans bringing the total up to Rs.
4,72,200.
Operations carried out at particular Plague Centres,
Poona.
PRELIMINARY REMARKS.
Report by the
late Mr. Rand.
Arrangement.
The following account of plague operations in Poona is mainly
derived from the report prepared by the late Mr. W. C. Rand, who was
Chairman of the Plague Committee. The report deals chiefly with
the period from the outbreak up to the 2oth May, by which time the
severity of the disease had greatly abated, Mr. Rand's report first
gives an outline of the measures adopted at the beginning of the out-
break and then details the operations carried out by the Committee.
The same plan will be followed in this summary, and in the second part
the subjects will, as far as possible, be dealt with under the headings
used in the last and in the first portion of the present chapter.
198 Measures in the Bombay Presidency and Sind. [CHAP. VIII.
First measures.
MEASURES TAKEN BEFORE THE APPOINTMENT OF A
COMMITTEE.
The first step taken for the protection of Poona from plague
was the appointment of a medical man on September 30th, 1896,
to watch passengers from Bombay at the Poona Railway Station. At
the same time sheds were erected near the Sassoon Hospital for the
reception of plague patients.
Conservancy.
From October particular attention was paid to the conser-
vancy of the city, and shortly before the end of January special regu-
lations for the suppression of plague in Poona were sanctioned by the
Commissioner of the Central Division under section 73 of Bombay
Act VI of 1873. In the meanwhile an Assistant Health Officer had
been appointed to plague duty.
First measures
taken by Mr.
Rand.
At the beginning of February Surgeon-Captain Lloyd Jones was
sent to Poona to assist and guide the Municipality in their efforts to
put an end to the outbreak. On the 19th of the same month the late
Mr. Rand took up the appointment of Assistant Collector of
Poona for the charge of operations against plague. He began by
instituting careful enquiries to ascertain the extent to which the
disease had extended and formed the conclusion that the epidemic was
far more widely spread than was shown by the municipal returns
of plague attacks and deaths. He notified this fact to superior
authority and then prepared a scheme for the suppression of the
epidemic. In this task he was assisted by Surgeon-Captain Beveridge,
an officer who had had experience of plague in Hong-kong, and who
was appointed to be Mr. Rand's special assistant for plague pur-
poses. It was decided, at the suggestion of Dr. Beveridge, to
employ the agency of troops in carrying out the necessary
measures, and at this juncture the Plague Committee was appointed.
General Plague
Hospital.
Segregation
camps.
Prior to the appointment of the Plague Committee a General
Plague Hospital had been erected to which the plague patients
at the Sassoon Hospital had been removed. Considerable progress
had been made in the construction of a general segregation camp, and
sanction had been accorded to the construction of plague hospitals by
the Hindu and Muhammadan communities. The Muhammadans had
also been permitted to establish a segregation camp. Surgeon-
Major J. B. Barry, who arrived at Poona for plague duty at the end of
February, had been placed in charge of the general conservancy of
the city, and was entrusted with the supervision of segregation camps
and plague hospitals.
Resolution
appointing the
Committee.
GENERAL ORGANIZATION OF THE OPERATIONS OF THE
COMMITTEE.
The Committee was appointed by a resolution of the Government
of Bombay of the 9th March, the terms of which have been explained
CHAP. VIII. ] Measures in the Bombay Presidency and Sind, 199
Constitution.
Area under the
control of the
Committee.
in the first portion of the chapter. The following officers formed
the Committee :—
Mr. Rand, Chairman.
Lieutenant-Colonel C. R. Philips.
Surgeon-Captain W. W. O. Beveridge.
The Committee was vested with authority over Poona City, Poona
Suburban Municipal limits and Poona Cantonment. The area and
population of each of these localities is given below :—
Name of district.
Poona City
Poona Suburban limits
Poona Cantonment ...
...
TOTAL
Area in square
miles.
4 9
3'75
4 25
12 9
Population (census
of 1891).
118,790
7,506
35.094
161,390
Position of
affairs at the
time of the
appointment of
the Committee.
Unfavourable
attitude of the
people and want
of labour.
The position of affairs at the time the Committee were appointed
was one of great gravity and showed the urgent necessity for taking
the strongest action. The measures so far adopted had been
unavailing to stay the course of the epidemic and the city was in
a condition of panic. A large proportion of the leading men of the
place had fled and the attitude of the mass of the people was
unfavourable and opposed to the adoption of the necessary precau-
tions. An additional and very great difficulty was the want of
labour to carry out the operations. "Many labourers were leaving
the town and, owing to the panic that prevailed, those who remained
could not be relied on to work regularly, especially if there was an
element of danger in the work to be done."
Division of the
city, employment
of troops, and
principal
measures.
To meet this emergency a carefully devised and systematic plan
of operations was elaborated, and carried out with the assistance of
volunteers from the British and native troops stationed at Poona and
Kirkee. The city was divided into a number of districts to facilitate
the systematic prosecution of the measures it was decided to enforce.
These measures consisted mainly in the following precautions :—
(1) The removal of the sick to plague hospitals.
(2) The removal of persons who were apparently healthy, but had
been exposed to plague infection, to segregation camps.
(3) The disinfection of houses and moveable property which had
been exposed to infection.