Page:The Imperial Gazetteer of India - Volume 2 (2nd edition).pdf/271

 BENARES. T546 criminals, of from

whom

261

174 were females; but these were recruited

the Districts composing the Benares Division.

all

The

District

and lock-up included, during the same year, a daily average of 553 prisoners, of whom 550 were males and 3 females. The postal establishment comprises 16 imperial and 2 provincial post-offices, and the telegraph is in operation at all the stations on both railways, as well as

jail

in the city.

The total number of schools receiving State aid or under inspection by the Education Department, in 1881-82, was 144, attended by 7190 pupils. There are also several unaided and uninspected schools The in the District, regarding which no statistics are available. Census Report of 1881 returns 9808 boys as being under instruction, and 37,635 other males as able to read and write, but not under instruction. These figures, however, must not be accepted as accurate, and are probably considerably below the mark. For fiscal and administrative purposes the District is divided into 2 tahs'ils and 19 pargands. The only municipality is that of Benares, which had an income, in 1880-81, of ;^i749, or is. a|d. per head of municipal population.

—

Medical Aspects. The climate of Benares is one of the hottest and dampest in the North-Western Provinces. No really cold weather and diversifies the year as in the upper country beyond Allahabad since the hot west winds have lost their force before reaching this District, tattis or grass mats fail to perform their function of cooling the air by evaporation. The temperature more nearly resembles that of Lower Bengal than that of the North-Western plains in general. The average mean monthly thermometrical readings for a period of 1 3 years, ending in 1880, are returned as follows: January 6o'i° F., February 66'5°, March 76-9°, April 86’7°, May 91 '6°, June 91 '6°, July 85'i°, August 84‘5°, September 83’5°, October 78'5°, November 68'9°, December 60-4°.

—

Yearly average, 77'8o°.

In

1880-81,

the

perature was iii‘3° in June, and the lowest the annual

mean being

The average

78'5°.

highest

maximum

minimum 38 '5°

tem-

in January,

total rainfall for

about 30

maximum during this period and the minimum 21 ‘6 inches in

years ending 1881 was 39‘86 inches; the

being

7 5

1860-61.

"7

inches in

The

1861-62,

1880 was only 26^36 inches, or i3'5o inches below the average. The total number of deaths recorded in the year 1880 was 22,479, or 25’2 per 1000 of the population. The District contains 5 charitable dispensaries 4 in the city and suburbs, and i at Chandauli, on the south bank. In 1881 they afforded relief to a total rainfall in

—

of 57,678 persons.

[For further particulars regarding Benares, see the

forthcoming volume of the North- Western Provinces

much interesting Duncan Records,

Gazetteer, and volumes of extracts from the the Allahabad Government Press. Also

information printed at

in

the