Howrah City
This article has been extracted from THE IMPERIAL GAZETTEER OF INDIA , 1908. OXFORD, AT THE CLARENDON PRESS. |
Note: National, provincial and district boundaries have changed considerably since 1908. Typically, old states, ‘divisions’ and districts have been broken into smaller units, and many tahsils upgraded to districts. Some units have since been renamed. Therefore, this article is being posted mainly for its historical value.
Howrah City
Head-quarters of Howrah District, Bengal, situated in 22° 35' N. and 88° 21' E., on the right bank of the Hooghly. opposite Calcutta. The city, which stretches for 7 miles along the banks of the river and includes the important suburbs of Sibpur, Ghusuri, Salkhia, and Ramkrishnapur, is now a great industrial suburi) of Calcutta, of comparatively modern growth. In the sixteenth century a market sprang up at Belor, near Sibpur, where the Portuguese used to tranship their goods from their sea-going vessels into the small river craft which ascended the Hooghly to Satgaon. Towards the end of the century Betor was deserted in favour of Sutanuti, the site of the modern Calcutta. In 1785 Howrah was a small village held by cnie Mr. Lovett, who found it so uni)rofitable that he petitioned to be allowed to relinquish it.
The Nawab Nazim's artillery park was at one time stationed here ; and the artillery i)raclising ground is shown in old maps, north of the railway, where the most densely populated part of the city now is. The Government salt golds were located within the limits of the town, and it gradually grew in importance until in 1843 ^t became the seat of a se[)arate Magistracy. In 1853 a further impetus was given to its development by the establishment here of the terminus of the East Indian Railway, the first section of which was opened to traffic in 1854. In 1874 the pontoon bridge was o])ened, and the improved connnunicalion with (,'alculki thus allorded enabled many of the people employed in the metropolis lo reside on the right bank of the Hooghly. Meantime, there had been a continuous development of various large industries conducted according to European methods, of which the rope-works at Ghusuri and Shalimar, founded a century ago, are probably the oldest. Then followed iron foundries and engineering works, and subsequently the rise of the jute and cotton-spinning industries, until at the present time there are no less than forty registered factories working within municipal limits.
Excluding 13,715 persons in Bally, which then belonged to Howrah but has since been made a separate municipality, the population in 1S72 was 84,069. In 1881 it had grown to 90,813, and in 1891 to 116,606, while at the Census of 1901 it was 157,594, or 35 per cent, more than in 1891 and nearly 87 per cent, more than in 1872. This rapid expansion is due almost entirely to the great industrial develop- ment that has taken place. The growing demand for labour has been met by immigration, about two-thirds of the inhabitants being immi- grants, chiefly from up-country. More than 33,000 come from the United Provinces, and about 25,000 from Bihar. Among these foreigners there is an enormous excess of males, who outnumber the females in the ratio of 2 to i. They are for the most part operatives in the mills, who return home as soon as they can afford to do so. In the meantime, they live huddled together in crowded lodging- houses. This overcrowding is not a necessary condition in Howrah, as there is ample room for building at no great distance from the centres of industry. It proceeds partly from the desire of the operatives to live as near as possible to their work, partly from their poverty which leaves them little to spare for rent, and partly from the pressure of municipal taxation which falls heaviest on huts and discourages the construction of new ones, unless there is a certainty of their being kept full of lodgers. With the exception of Calcutta, Howrah is now the most populous city in Bengal. Of the total population, 73-6 per cent, are Hindus and 24-9 per cent. Muhammadans, while there are 2,282 Christians and 71 followers of other religions.
Howrah was constituted a municipality in 1862. The income during the ten years ending 190 1-2 averaged 5-86 lakhs, and the expenditure 5-40 lakhs. The rapid growth of the population has led to a great increase in the value of house property and land, and the income has more than doubled during the decade, amounting in 1903-4 to 9-71 lakhs, of which 1-83 lakhs was derived from a tax on houses and property, 1-49 lakhs from a conservancy rate, 1-33 lakhs from a water rate, Rs. 55,000 from a lighting rate, Rs. 12,000 from a tax on vehicles, and Rs. 52,000 as rent from lands and other municipal property. The incidence of taxation was Rs. 3-6-6 per head of the population. In the same year the expenditure was 6- 10 lakhs, including Rs. 60,000 si)ent on lighting. Rs. 97,000 on water-supply, Rs. 18,000 on drainage, Rs. 1,79,000 on conservancy, Rs. 55,000 on roads, Rs. 17,000 on medical relief, and Rs. 5,000 on education. Portions of the city have been lit with gas for more than 25 years, and the system is being extended ; but the greatest recent improvement was the introduction in 1896 of a filtered water-supply from water-works, filters and pump- ing stations having been constructed at Serampore. The city had previously suffered very severely from water famines and cholera ; but since the opening of the water-works the former have ceased, and the latter has not appeared in epidemic form. On the other hand, the general death-rate has risen. The city lies low, and the amount of stagnant water has greatly increased since the water-works were opened. It is in urgent need of an efficient system of drainage. The municipality maintains 50 miles of metalled and 4 miles of unmetalled roads.
Howrah is the terminus of the East Indian and the Bengal-Nagpur Railways, which bring down the coal and other products of the western Districts and connect Calcutta with the general railway system of Upper India and the Peninsula. It is also the terminus of the Howrah-Amta and Howrah-Sheakhala Light Railways. It is connected with Calcutta by a floating pontoon bridge {see Calcutta). The chief public buildings are the Magistrate's office, the civil courts, the District board and municipal offices, the Howrah General Hospital, the Sibpur Civil Engineering College, and the Howrah District school. The jail has accommodation for 18 convicted and 31 under-trial prisoners.
For police purposes the town is divided into 3 thd/ias, Howrah, Golabari, and Sibpur; and the force in 1904 consisted of 3 inspectors, 5 sub-inspectors, 18 head constables, and 345 constables.
The principal educational institution is the Civil Engineering College at Sibpur, which occupies the buildings and premises of the old 13ishop's College, since transferred to Calcutta. The college contains four departments. In the Engineer department, the course extends over four years, after which the pupils have to undergo a further period of one year's practical training under the Public A\'orks depart- ment to obtain the final college certificate ; a certain number of the successful graduates receive appointments in Government service. The course in the Apprentice department lasts for five years, but those leaving after three and a half years are entitled to third-grade over- seer's certificates. The Artisan class is chiefly for the benefit of sons of misiris (carpenters), and a stipend of from R. i to Rs. 3 a month is given to those who turn out satisfactory work. The Agricultural class is to be transferred to the Imperial Institution at Pusa. The total number of pupils under instruction in 1903-4 was 386, and the expenditure amounted to Rs. 1,50,000, of which Rs. 1,28,000 was met from Provincial funds and the balance from fees.
The Howicih General Hospital has 112 beds, and in 1903 1,848 in- patients and 13,000 out-patients were treated, and 1,521 operations were performed. The expenditure amounted to Rs. 34,000, of which Rs. 6,000 was contributed by Government, Rs. 10,000 from Local funds, Rs. 5,000 from municipal funds, and Rs. 9,000 from sub- scriptions.
