Page:The Imperial Gazetteer of India - Volume 10 (2nd edition).pdf/89



JUZAFFARPUR. Municipal income (1883-84), £1756, of which £1340 was derived from taxation; average incidence of taxation, 15. old. per head. Muzaffarnagar was founded by a son of Muzaffar Khán Khánjahan, in the reign of the Emperor Shah Jahan, about 1633. The town is closely built, and crowded with small narrow lanes. District court, tahsili, jail, schools, telegraph office, dispensary. Formerly notorious for fever, but great sanitary iniprovenients have lately been effected. Trade in agricultural produce. Muzaffarpur.—District in the Patná Division or Commissionership of Behar, under the jurisdiction of the Lieutenant-Governor of Bengal, forming the western portion of the old District of Tirhút, which was split up in 1875 into the tiro present Districts of Darbhangal and Muzaffarpur, Muzaffarpur extends from 25° 30' to 26° 52' 30" x. lat., and from 8.4° 54' 30" to 85° 57' 30" E. long. It is bounded on the north by the Independent State of Nepál; on the east by Darbhangah District; on the south by the Ganges, which separates it fron Patná District ; and on the west by Champáran District and the Gandak river, which separates it from Sáran District. Its greatest length from north to south is 96 miles, and its greatest breadth from east to west 48 miles. Area, 3003 square miles. Population (1881) 2.582,060 souls. The chief town and administrative head-quarters of the District are at Muzaffarpur town, situated on the right or south bank of the Little Gandak river. Physical Aspects.--Muzaffarpur District consists of three separate tracts. The southern tract includes the Hájípur Sub-division, and so much of the Muzaffarpur Sub-division as lies on the right bank of the Buri Gandak river. The land is for the most part high and slightly undulating; and the soil, which consists of rich mould and sand, produces most of the opium, indigo, and tobacco grown in the District. Of the cultivated area, two-fifths is rice land, and three-fifths is under rabi, bhadoi, and non-food crops. The central tract, occupying the area between the Buri Gandak and the Baghmatí rivers, is low and subject to inundation, and the soil consists of alluvial matter mixed with rich mould. Of the cultivated area, three-fifths is rice land, and two-fifths is under mixed crops. The northern tract between the Baghmatí and the frontier is also low, and in many places marshy, the soil consisting of sand and clay, with an admixture of iron. Of the cultivated area, three-fifths is rice land, and two-fifths is under mixed crops. The principal rivers or streams which intersect the District are the Bághmatí, Burí Gandak, Lakhandai, and Bya. Of the two boundary rivers, the Ganges requires no remarks. The other, the Gandak, is a large and very rapid river, navigable in the rains for boats of 1000 maunds up to Lálganj, and for boats of 500 maunds up to Sáhibganj ; but in the dry season only boats of 200