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 — BALASOR.

3

the entrances to the other Balasor rivers, seriously interfering with, or entirely preventing, navigation.

The

question of devising means for

the removal of these bars and the prevention of their re-formation, has

engaged the anxious consideration of Government ; but the problem has not yet been solved. Ports and Harbours There are seven principal ports in Balasor District, the names of which, beginning from the north, are SubarNAREKHA, Saratha, Chhanuya, Balasor, Laich.anpur, Churaman, and Dhamra. Subarnarekha is situated on the river of the same name, and is distant about 12 miles from its mouth. It was at one time by far the most important harbour on the Orissa coast, and it possesses .

—



special interest as being probably the earliest maritime settlement of

That settlement was founded

the English in Bengal.

ruins of the Portuguese factory at Pippli.

longer known, but

Its

in

1634 on the is no

exact position

supposed to have been about 4 miles farther In the early part of the last century, the settlement was already in a state of ruin and decay, on account of the silting up of the river mouth. Owing to changes in the course of the stream, no stone remains to mark the spot where the famous port once stood. In the days of its prosperity, ships sailed from the sea right up to the harbour ; now the sandy bar at the entrance of the river is all but bare at low water, and in the south-west monsoon the port is quite unsafe, presenting an exposed lee shore with breakers right across its mouth. Beyond the bar, the river is deep and clear. The place is at present frequented chiefly by fishing boats, which cruise along the coast in fine weather as far as Puri. Concurrently with the gradual decay of Subarnarekha, Churaman seems to have risen in

up the

it

is

than the present port.

river

importance, and in 1809 the Balasor Collector of Customs described as the most safe and convenient port on the coast of Orissa,’ and

it

‘

on a sea-going trade exceeding that of Balasor.’ is 5 miles north of it, have both succumbed to the common enemy silt ; and the mouths of the raids on which they are situated are so nearly closed, that to steer a small jolly-boat into them and out again to sea requires careful watching of the tides.’ These 7ialds are branches of the same river, the Kansbans, which bifurcates at a point 7 miles in a straight line from the coast. Laichanpur is on the northern of these branches, which keeps the name of Kansbans ; while Churaman lies on the southern branch, called the Gammai. These rivers will probably be still further closed by the Coast Canal, now (1883) under construction, which will cut directly across them. Saratha and Chhanuya are similarly situated on the Saratha and Panchpara rivers at their point of junction. They are practically one port, and are navigable to points 8 stated that

it

‘

carries

Since then this port and Laichanpur, which

—

‘

or 9 miles from the sea in a direct line.

Native rice sloops of as

much