Narsinghpur Town
Narsinghpur Town, 1908
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.
Head-quarters of the District and tahsil of the same name. Central Provinces, situated in 22° 57' N. and 79° 13' E., on the Great Indian Peninsula Railway to Jubbulpore, 564 miles from Bombay. Population (1901), 11,233. It ^^.s formerly called Chhota- Gadarwara, and the name of Narsinghpur was given when a temple of Narsingh (the man-lidn incarnation of Vishnu) was erected about 100 years ago. Narsinghpur proper stands on the west bank of the small river Singri ; and the houses on the eastern bank are really situated in a separate town called Kandell, but are included within the munici- pality of Narsinghpur. The Singri, though of absolutely insignificant size, is liable to sudden floods; and in 1891 it submerged the town and civil station, and washed away numerous houses, though the exertions of the civil officers prevented any loss of life. It has been dammed to afford a water-supply to the town. Narsinghpur was created a municipality in 1867. The municipal receipts during the decade ending 1901 averaged Rs. 15,000. In 1903-4 they were Rs. 17,000, mainly derived from octroi, but including a grant of Rs. 4,000 from Provincial funds for education. With the exception of the export of timber from the Chhindwara forests, there has not hitherto been much trade at Narsinghpur, the adjoining station of Kareli being a more important centre. But since the opening of the railway to Saugor, Kareli has been diminishing and Narsinghpur increasing in importance. Hand-weaving and dyeing and book-binding are among the local handicrafts. The town contains a printing press with Hindi and English type, which issues three monthly vernacular periodicals. It has an English middle and other schools, and three dispensaries. A mission station of the American Methodist Episcopal Church has been established here.
