VIZAGAPATAM
to the foot of it in a tonjon, be driven thence to his court, and ride up again at night. When Government were looking about for a sanitarium for Calcutta in 1872, he wrote to them bringing the place to notice and stating that it was quite free from fever, possessed of good soil, covered with interesting plants, contained space for 100 houses, was from ten to fourteen degrees cooler than Vizagapatam, and had a most invigorating climate. He had by then laid out Rs. 6,000 in roads, reservoirs (there was no spring higher than half way up the hill) and temporary buildings, and the Mahárája of Vizianagram (owner of the hill) had erected, at a similar cost, a permanent house which Mr. Thomas rented. The remains of this last are still visible from Waltair.
Government called for the opinion of the Collector, Superintending Engineer and Zilla Surgeon on the place. They reported that the water difficulty was serious, the place cramped, the difference of temperature only four degrees, the building sites exposed, the evening mists unpleasant and the absence of any shade a drawback. Government accordingly decided in 1873 to spend no money on the hill.
334
