The sanitary crisis

Despite laws to ensure cleanliness, several circumstances, including the famine, threw the city out of gear in the 19th Century

BIG PROBLEM: The City Market was a veritable mess when it was created because of improper sewage disposal hindu photo archives

Though a Municipal Board had been established in Bangalore, the civic affairs of the town in general did not see any improvement. Many drains in the town were in a dangerous state. In some places they were 10 to 12 feet deep and five to six feet wide. They were even kept uncovered in a few areas. The roads were full of potholes and the street lamps, fuelled by kerosene, emitted poor light.

In Taragupete, an important trading centre, filth from the drains was dumped on the road, with carts going all over them, resulting in a hideous mess. People too did not co-operate with the municipal authorities. Whenever a member of their family fell victim to cholera or any other epidemic, they did not report it to the authorities concerned, even though a byelaw required the citizens to do the same.

Garbage clearance

The contractors responsible for the removal of filth in the Cantonment area subleased their work to farmers who used to arrange for the removal of the filth, which they, in turn, used as manure. But when they needed their bullocks and carts during agricultural operations, the farmers wouldn't turn up for garbage lifting. This subjected the municipal authorities to great difficulty.

Contractors engaged in the erection of buildings in the Cantonment area, employing more than 10 persons, were to construct and maintain a latrine for their use, and clean it before 7 a.m. daily. Violation of this byelaw entailed a fine of Rs. 20. Another byelaw prohibited people from drying cow dung cakes on the walls of their houses, particularly those that adjoined public streets. Similarly, house owners were supposed to regularly clean their land of the weed lantana, and trim their hedges. Carts coming to the town laden with goods were to proceed to the cart stand after unloading and not park in bang in the middle of a road. Infringement of this byelaw invited a fine of Rs. 20.

Public kitchens

In 1877, a severe famine overtook the whole of India. In Bangalore, three public kitchens were set up, which provided two meals a day. The Mysore Government gave a sum of Rs. 20,000 to the Town Municipality to utilise on works for the improvement of the water supply of the town as well as the Cantonment. These works provided employment to weavers and other artisans who were deprived of their livelihood due to famine and disruption in trade. During this time, there was a large influx of people into the Cantonment. People brought with them filthy habits of using public spaces to answer nature's call. Due to this, the conservancy department was under tremendous pressure.

S. SRINIVAS

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