Jessore Town
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.
Jessore Town
Head-quarters of Jessore District, Bengal, situated in 23° 10' N. and 89° 13' E., on the Bhairab river, and on the Eastern Bengal State Railway, 74 miles from Calcutta and 35 miles from Khulna. Population (1901), 8,054. The name was applied to the village of Kasba when it was made the head-quarters of the District. The villages of Purana, Kasba, Bagchhar, Sankarpur, and Chanchra lie within the municipal limits. The last contains the residence of the Rajas of Chanchra or Jessore (see Jessore District), and the remains of a rampart and fosse by which it was once surrounded are still visible. Jessore was constituted a municipality in 1864. The income during the decade ending 190 1-2 averaged Rs. 19,000, and the expenditure Rs. 18,000. In 1903-4 the income was Rs. 22,000, of which Rs. 10,000 was derived from a tax on houses and lands, and Rs. 5,000 from a con- servancy rate ; the expenditure was Rs. 21,000. The town possesses the usual public offices, including criminal, revenue, and civil courts, the District jail, a church, a dispensary with 16 beds, a public library, and a high school. The jail has accommodation for 370 prisoners ; the industries carried on are brick-making, surki and khoa pounding, cane and bamboo work, and the manufacture of coir mats and jute string. There are three printing presses, and a weekly newspaper and two monthly magazines with a large circulation are published. Part of the town is provided with a filtered water-supply, and it is proposed to extend this by the construction of large water-works.
