Ghats of Kolkata… Revisited: The Gate that lends its name to a Ghat

A view of the Water Gate as recorded by W Bailey

Although the Maidan is generally regarded as a green space like London’s Hyde Park, the lungs that help Kolkata to breathe, it was conceived strictly for military purposes. The space had to be large enough and level enough for unrestricted field of fire from Fort William in case the fort was attacked. The original fort, started by Job Charnock and named for King William III of England, was damaged during the siege of the city in 1756.

            The new fort was built, not at the centre of the White Town, but a little to the side of it in Gobindapur, on a site selected by Robert Clive for strategic reasons. The thriving Bengali community there was reluctantly persuaded, with financial compensation, to move north towards Sutanati, taking along the “tutelary deity Gobindjee and its historic shrine”.

            It took thirteen years, until 1773, and an astonishing two million pounds to complete construction work. For obvious reasons, cooperation form the local workers were grudging, and eventually the Company had to use forced labour. A substantial amount of the money was spent “to ward off encroachment by the river, which as it happens, has receded in exactly the opposite direction,” noted HEA Cotton in Calcutta Old and New. But the European residents of Kolkata were impressed. As witness, a certain Mrs Fay who lived the city from 1780 and wrote to England about Fort William in most enthusiastic terms:

As you come up past the Fort William and The Esplanade, it has a beautiful appearance. Esplanade Row, as it is called, which fronts the Fort, seems to be composed of palaces; the whole range, except what is taken up the Government and the Council Houses, is occupied by the principle gentlemen in the settlement, no person being allowed to reside in the Fort William, but such as are attached to the Army. Our fort is also so well kept, and everything is in such excellent order that it is quite a curiosity to see it, all the slopes, banks and ramparts are covered with the richest verdure, which completes the enchantment of the scene.

Although the fort still impresses military historians, to most people its not particularly striking. Its shape is that of an irregular octagon — with three sides facing the Hooghly and the other five facing the Maidan.

A defensive ditch that was designed to be filled-up with water by opening a sluice from the river surrounded the Fort’s gates. Of the seven gates, two faces the Hooghly River — the sluice, for all strategic reasons, was constructed under the northern one. 

The gate was christened as the Water Gate, and popularly known amongst the locals as the Pani Darwaza. The ditch next to the Strand Road that is now dry used to be filled with water. Pani Ghat, named after the Gate is located on the western side of this landmark. The Gwalior Monument is situated to the south of this Ghat on the riverfront.

Pani Ghat

 

Ghats of Kolkata… Revisited: Judges Ghat & The Gwalior Monument

Left: Sir Elijah Impey; Right: Gwalior Monument

The promulgation of Regulating Act of 1773 by the King of England paved the way for establishment of the Supreme Court of Judicature at Calcutta. The Letters of Patent was issued on 26 March 1774 to establish the Supreme Court of Judicature at Calcutta, as a Court of Record, with ‘full power and authority’ to ‘hear and determine all complaints for any crimes’ and also ‘to entertain, hear and determine any suits or actions against any of His Majesty’s subjects in Bengal, Bihar and Orissa’.

            Sir Elijah Impey (13 June 1732 – 1 October 1809) was appointed as the first chief justice of the Supreme Court of Judicature at Fort William in Bengal, Chief Justice of the Sadr Diwani Adalat. His presence at the Court ensured a few notable cases. In 1775 he presided at the trial of Maharaja Nandakumar, who was accused of forging a bond in an attempt to deprive a widow of more than half her inheritance. 

             It was at the insistence of Impey that a new Ghat was constructed a few yards to the north of Prinsep Ghat. This Ghat was specifically designated for the use of ‘high ranking’ British officials, especially Judges who were posted in India by the Empire to step on the Indian soil. The Ghat, therefore, was christened as the Judges Ghat. Interestingly, it is also referred to as the Gwalior Ghat, perhaps because of its proximity to the Gwalior Monument that is located a few paces away from the Ghat.

Judges Ghat

            Gwalior Monument, also known as Ellenborough’s Folly, or, The Pepperpot, is an octagonal cenotaph about 60 feet high, crowned with a bronze dome. It was erected in 1847 by Lord Ellenborough, the Governor-General of India, as a memorial to the officers and men who fell during the Gwalior War in 1843.

It was designed by Colonel H Goodwyn of the Bengal Engineers and constructed by Jessop and Company. The base is a single storied white marble structure with a spiral staircase leading to a marble cenotaph on the upper floor from the inside. The top of the monument is built like a Mughal ‘chhatri’ or umbrella supported by 8 bronze pillars. 

The dome of the cenotaph is crowned with a bronze dome cast from guns captured from the Marathas during the Gwalior War. One can enjoy the majestic Hooghly River seen along with the full view of the Howrah Bridge as well as the Vidyasagar Setu from the Gwalior Monument.

Gwalior Monument: A view of the dome

 

‘Song of the Road’… A Brief History of the City’s Roads (1700s ~ 1900s): Part One

Pilgrim Road (Chitpur Road) in the 1760s

The construction of roads and their maintenance is an important indicator of urban planning. It also indirectly affects the sanitation in a city. There were practically no roads in the villages that grew into Calcutta, as they were sparsely inhabited. The only pathway was the Pilgrim Road — what is known today as the Chitpur Road — that led to the Kali Temple. The British East India Company as well as the British Government, who took over the administration of the city of Calcutta in 1857, had constructed roads for their ease of movement. Historically, construction of roads in early Calcutta can be traced over three specific periods. They are:

1. Days of the Zamindar (1700~1793);
2. Days of Justices of the Peace (1794~1876); and
3. Municipal Corporation (since 1876)

Roads in Calcutta During Eighteenth Century

Year	Streets	Lanes	By-Lanes
1706	2	0	0
1726	4	8	0
1742	16	46	74
1756	27	52	74
1794	163	520	517

Source: AK Ray: “Short History of Calcutta”; Census Report of India, 1901; Volume VII, Calcutta; ‘Town and Suburbs’; Part I, Calcutta

CR Wilson’s Old Fort William in Bengal reports that the authorities constructed new roads from Fort William to Gobindapur in 1721 for making the place healthier “by the wind’s free passage into the town”. The construction of roads in Calcutta during the days of the Zamindar was primarily carried out by taking contributions from the merchants and local residents. The English Company encouraged voluntary contributions in labour and money for development works of the town. The Company was not authorised by the British Parliament to levy tax on inhabitants of Calcutta for effecting town improvements till 1794. The Circular Road (now called Acharya Prafulla Chandra and Acharya Jagadish Bose Roads) was the result of the voluntary efforts of the citizens of Calcutta.

By 1742, Calcutta had 16 streets and 46 lanes. Few of the roads marked in Orme’s Plan of Calcutta 1742, lying within the Maratha Ditch, had received their present-day names — the ‘Avenue leading to the eastward’ (Bowbazar Street or Bipin Behari Ganguly Street); ‘Road to Dum Dum’, ‘Causeway’ (Manicktollah Road, subsequently renamed as Sookea Street, Baranasi Ghose Street etc); and ‘Road to Kalighat’.

Dalhousie Area (circa 1780)

Captain William Holcombe’s report of 1742, contained references to a ‘Road towards Pennings’ (Chitpur Road up to Baghbazar), and, an ‘Avenue towards the Water Side’ (Nimtala Ghat Street). A number of roads were also repaired by the Zamindars in 1749. The roads included:

1.    “The Road from the Dock Head to the Stable and down to the side of the Park” (Hare Street and road along Dalhousie Square to Vansittart Row);

2.   “The Street from the side and back of Mr Rooper’s House and down to Messrs Noke’s and Lascelles’s House” (Mangoe Lane);

3.   “The Road from Captain Lloyd’s house to the New Bazar, Chandpal Bazar” (Esplanade Row West);

4.   “The Road from New Bridge to Barthola Bazar” (Chitpur Road);

5.    “The Road from the Fort Gate to Mansingh’s Chowki” (Lalbazar~Bowbazar Street);

6.   “The Road from Chowrighee’s Chowki and Gusthulla Bazaar” (Bentinck Street~Chowringhee Road up to Park Street);

7.   “The Street from Margass’s House down to the Powder House” (Council House Street);

8.   “The Street from Purana Gunge to Gobindapur Chowki” (a road that has now merged in the Maidan);

9.   “The Street to the side of the Goal down to Mr Frankland’s Garden” (a road from Tiretta Bazaar to Middleton Row; and

10. “The Street from Omichund’s House to Mir Bahar Chowki” (China Bazaar~ Mir Bahar Ghat Street).

With the recapture of Calcutta from Siraj-ud-Dowlah in 1757, new roads were laid out in the Maidan in the early part of the nineteenth century. Englishmen, who were confined to their settlement at Tank Square, moved out to Chowringhee and the suburbs after 1760. The acquisition of the Zamindari rights of the 24-Parganas in 1757 helped the Company to expand the limits of Calcutta from time to time.

to be continued

Quenching Kolkata’s Thirst… A Brief History of the City’s Water Supply System (1700s ~ 1950s): Part 1

An adequate supply of pure water, along with an efficient drainage and sewerage system, is most essential to ensure good health of a population. Although the consumption of water depends upon climatic conditions, standard of living and habits of the people, a daily supply of 150 to 200 litres (34~40 gallons) per head is considered an adequate allowance.

Supply of Filtered Water to The City

In its early years, Kolkata, or, the then Calcutta had its water supply from open tanks, wells and the river Hooghly. The staunch Hindus used nothing but Ganga waters from the Hooghly River. A certain Baboo Baishnacharan Sheth of Burra Bazaar made a fortune by supplying the holy water to far off places. Wealthy Hindus got their supplies either from Hooghly Town or from Khulna for the apparently purer flow there. The water would be filtered through sand and charcoal, after immersing a red-hot iron rod into it and stored in Pegu jars for as long as a year. The river water was fit for drinking only from October to March. From April till the onset of the monsoons, it was saline. The water when turbid was clarified by alum and strained through cloth. Some people collected rainwater and used it when the river water became turbid during the rainy season.

            In the native part of the city, numerous private wells supplied water to the poorer people, living away from the river. These privately owned tanks were foul smelling and unsanitary, and the water too polluted for human consumption. The Europeans often used stored rainwater. The Great Tank at Dalhousie Square (now BBD Bag), popularly known as Lal Dighi, was enlarged and deepened in 1709 to ensure a good supply of sweet water to the garrison at Old Fort William and for the British in Calcutta. Many private tanks were also excavated but subsequently decayed due to absolute neglect.

            Not much initiative was taken by the European authorities to improve the civic amenities of the city even after it became the capital of British India in 1773. In fact, it was only in the early nineteenth century that things began to improve.

            At a meeting of the “Town Improvement Committee” held on June 16, 1803 Lord Wellesley admitted: “It is a primary duty of the government to provide for health, safety and convenience of the inhabitants of this great town by establishing a comprehensive system for the roads, streets, paths, drains and water by fixing permanent rules for the construction and distribution of the houses and public edifices and for the regulation of nuisance of every description”. It was during his regime that the “Town Reforms Committee” was formed for improvement of the town. Since the construction of the public drains and watercourses of the Town was extremely defective, he assigned great importance to the improvements of its drainage and water supply systems.

            This led to the appointment of a Committee in 1804 to look into the matter. This “Improvement Committee”, later called the “Lottery Committee”, undertook extensive development work for the city.

            The Lottery Committee excavated a number of tanks between 1808 and 1837, chiefly along the arterial road from Lower Circular Road to Shyambazar at Cornwallis Square, College Square, Wellington Square, Mirzapur, Soorti Bagan, along with several tanks in Shorts Bazaar.

The ‘native town’ too had a number of private tanks, sometimes open to the public. By 1847, the total number of tanks within the Maratha Ditch was 1,043. It appears from the Administrative Report of the Calcutta Municipality for 1,877 that there were within the boundaries of the city some 800 tanks covering an area of 146 acres. In the suburbs, Bhowanipore alone had 823 tanks in 1888.

However, with the growth of population, the existing system was found inadequate, and by 1820, a small pumping plant was set up at Chandpal Ghat for lifting river water into open masonry aqueducts that distributed the water by gravitation over a small portion of the town comprising Old Court House Street, Dharamtola, Chowringhee, Park street, part of Chitpore Road, Lal Bazaar, Bow bazaar, etc; The aqueducts were filled with water pumped from the river Hooghly by a small pumping station at Chandpal Ghat and settled into a settling tank from where the water flowed into the aqueducts by gravity. Water could be taken from the aqueducts by buckets and the supply was also used for street watering and replenishing the public tanks.

The authorities for the first time recognised the need for pure and wholesome water in 1848 and passed the legislation Act II.  The Commissioners subsequently spent large sums for repairing the public tanks. In 1854, the system of aqueducts was extended to Wellington Street, Wellesley Place and College Street. The cost was borne by the Government and the public.

Clark recommended the use of cast-iron pipes laid underground, through which water could be forced from Chandpal Ghat. The Commissioners, however, on the grounds of expense and delay in obtaining materials from England, did not favour the innovation.

Between December 1861 and January 1863 an elaborate analysis of the Hooghly water was carried out by collecting samples from the centre of the stream at 6 feet below the surface at three stations, namely from opposite Cossipore, Palta Ghat and Chinsura.

It was observed that the Cossipore water was tainted by sewage, and the plan of placing the intake pipes at this point, courtesy low cost, was abandoned. The analyst reported that water drawn either at Palta or Chinsura was comparatively pure, and after settling and filtration would give a pure and wholesome supply. Clark’s original scheme provided for a daily supply of 3 to 4.5 million gallons of water.

In 1865 Clark submitted a full report on the Palta scheme that was approved in its entirety by the Water Supply and Finance Committees of the Corporation, who recommended that the works should be carried out by contract under the supervision of the Justices, instead of the supply being placed under the control of a water company.

The first water works for the supply of filtered water to the City was built at Palta (about 30 kms north of the City Centre situated between Barrackpore and Naihati) and took three years (1867-1870) for its construction. It was designed for supplying 6 million gallons (27.28 million litres) of treated water every day to a population of 4 lakhs, thus giving a per capita supply of 15 gallons (68litres) per day.

In order to obtain the full advantage of the waterworks and to avoid the depreciation that iron pipes were expected to undergo owing to the salinity of the soil, Clark was in favour of conveying the water from Palta by a brick aqueduct instead of through iron pipes, but his views were subsequently modified. 

Two pumping stations were built — one at Tallah and the other at Wellington Square — along with two underground reservoirs with capacities of 1 million gallons (4.546 million litres), and 6.25 million gallons (28.41 million litres) respectively. The filtered water from Palta to Tallah was conveyed by gravity through a 42 inches (1067 mm) diameter cast-iron main laid at a gradient of 1 inch. Water used to be pumped from Tallah under pressure partly to the consumers direct and partly into the underground reservoir at Wellington Square from where again water used to be pumped to the consumers.

The daily consumption of water was 4.5 million gallons (20.5 million litres) by 1870, and all the principal streets and lanes (385 in number) were piped, to a total length of piping aggregating 111.75 miles (179 kms). Over 500 stand posts were erected in the streets and made accessible to the public. 

It was soon found that the working of the filters was unsatisfactory during the rainy season. In 1871 thus, engineers proposed to increase the number of filters and to make other extensive works. With the increasing demand for filtered water the problem of water wastage began to assume great importance.  As a measure of economy, the extension of the unfiltered water supply was extended for street watering, fire prevention and trade.    Gradually, an additional engine was installed at Tallah, the pumping plant at Chandpal Ghat was strengthened, and unfiltered water supply was further extended.  The supply of filtered water, however, did not exceed 7 million gallons daily. It soon became evident that the works should be enlarged.

to be continued