Sirsi Town (North Kanara)
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.
Sirsi Town (1)
Head-quarters of the taluka of the same name in North Kanara District, Bombay, situated in 14" 37" N. and 74° 50' E., 320 miles south-east of Bombay city, and about 60 miles south-east of Karwar ; 2,500 feet above sea-level. Population (1901), 6,196, including suburbs. The ground on which the town stands consists of quartz and gravel, the highest points of which are covered by a bed of laterite, while in the ravines on the western and northern sides there is micaceous schist broken through by diorite. Sirsi has been a munici- pality since 1866, with an average income during the decade ending 1901 of Rs. 15,000. In 1903-4 the income was Rs. 23,000. Every alternate year a fair is held in honour of the deity Mari, which lasts for a week, and is attended chiefly by low-caste Hindus to the number of about 10,000 persons. Colonel Wellesley in 1800 sent a battalion to Sirsi to drive out banditti. The town contains a Subordinate Judge's court, a dispensary, a middle school, and three other schools.
