Page:Bulandshahr- Or, Sketches of an Indian District- Social, Historical and Architectural.djvu/34

 "This district, as you are aware, is divided into two nearly equal portions by the Kdlindi river, which runs from north to south right through the middle of it. Between Hápur in the Merath district and the town of Bulandshahr, there is not a single bridge of any kind, nor even a ferry, and the consequent inconvenience (as you may imagine) is very great—the more so as an old thoroughfare runs from the town of Guláothi on the Merath and Aligarh road to Sayána near the Ganges and thence on to Garhmuktesvar—which would be very largely used, but for the uncertainty that always exists as to the possibility of getting across the river. Every cold weather that I have been in the district, I have found it impassable for carts, and when in the neighbourhood of Guláothi have been obliged to return all the way to Bulandshahr before I could reach Agota, which lies immediately opposite on the left-bank of the stream, thus making the distance 25 miles instead of something less than 5. Previous Collectors have urged the matter upon the notice of Government, but it has always been shelved, mainly I suppose on account of want of funds. I myself also wrote on the subject soon after I had taken over charge of the district, and represented that several of the land-owners in the neighbourhood had volunteered to contribute to the cost, but the correspondence came to nothing, the D. P. W. in their refusal to act insisting chiefly upon the want of statistics with regard to the number of people using the Guláothi and Sayána road; an absurdity which I can only compare to the question of how many steamers passed through the Isthmus of Suez before the canal was dug.

"However, though Government assistance has been refused, it now seems likely that this important work will be undertaken by private munificence. A few days ago, Munshi Mihrbán Ali, Rais and Honorary Magistrate of Guláothi, was calling upon me and, after mentioning that he always set apart a portion of his annual income for religious and charitable purposes, he went on to say that he had now a considerable sum in hand as to the disposal of which he had formed and rejected various schemes, but he had finally come to the conclusion that he could not spend it in any way more likely to perpetuate his name (he has no son) or benefit his neighbours than by building a bridge over the Kalindi on the Guláothi and Sayána road. The offer, I should explain, was entirely spontaneous and I had said nothing whatever to prompt it. I at once warmly approved of the idea and he then asked me to make the necessary arrangements and