Page:The Imperial Gazetteer of India - Volume 2 (2nd edition).pdf/20

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BALA so R HEAD-QUARTERS.

lO of Balasor

District consisted

at a cost of

^7445

costing

officers,

grants

of 475

^228; and 2230

of service

and men, maintained men and watchmen, maintained by

officers

a town police or municipal force of 30

land

or

village

subscriptions

from

the

villagers

of an

estimated value of ^2824. The average daily jail population during the same year was ioo'42, of whom 6'38 were females. Until within the last few years very little educational progress had been made. In

1856-57, there were in the District 2 Government and aided schools, with 99 pupils in 1870-71, the number of schools had increased to 28,

and of pupils to 1252. By 1880-81, under the provisions of Sir George Campbell’s scheme for extending the grant-in-aid system to elementary schools, the total number of schools of this description in Balasor under Government inspection had increased to 1447, attended by 22,737 pupils. Unaided inspected schools numbered 534. The Census Report of 1880-81 returned a total of 24,238 boys and 481 girls as under instruction, besides 30,022 males and 351 females able to read and write, but not under instruction. Medical Aspects. The hot season, which lasts from March to the middle of June, is tempered by a cool sea-breeze from the south-west the rains, which follow the hot season, last until the end of September. The average temperature in May is 98° F., in April 96°, and in September and November 73°. The average annual rainfall is 67*30 inches. The most common endemic disease is elephantiasis arabum, which is

said to be always present in from 15 to 20 per cent, of the people. Skin diseases are common throughout the District towards the end of

the rains, valent. afflicted,

and

after they

Cholera

is

the

and the disease

have ceased, remittent fever becomes preepidemic with which Balasor is

principal is

doubtless often induced by the stream of

pilgrims which annually flows along the trunk road.

breaks occurred

in

1853 and 1866.

Very severe out-

[For further information regarding

my Orissa (2 vols.. Smith, Elder, & Co., 1872) and Account of Bengal, vol. xviii. pp. 247-372 also Bengal Census Report of 1881, and the Report of the Bengal and Orissa

Balasor District, see

my

Statistical

Famine Commissioners, 1866.] Balasor. The head-quarters Sub-division of the District of the same name in Bengal, lying between 21° 3' 30" and 21° 56' 30" n. lat., and population (1881) between 86° 23' 45" and 87° 31' 20" e. long. 519,707, comprising 501,3x5 Hindus (96’4 per cent, of the Sub-divisional

Muhammadans, 749 Christians, and 4817 ‘others;’ number of villages, 3369 of houses, 88,557 ; square miles; 1157 average density, 449 persons per square mile ; number of villages per square mile, 2'9 houses per square mile, 76^5 number of persons population), 12,826 area,

per village, 154, and per house, 5 ‘8. The Sub-division comprises the five police circles {thdnds) of Balasor, Basta, Jaleswar, Baliapal, and