GOVERNMENT OF BIHAR AND ORISSA.

                                MUNICIPAL DEPARTMENT.

                                        RESOLUTION.

                                          No. 9426M.

                                                                Ranchi, the 7th September 1914.

READ—

The Report of the Sanitary Commissioner, Bihar and Orissa, for the year 1913.

Read also the Triennial Report on Vaccination, Bihar and Orissa, for the years 1911-12
to 1913-14.

Lt.-Col. E. C. Hare, I.M.S., was in charge of the Sanitary Department
for the whole of the year under review.

2.  Rainfall.—The year's rainfall was heavy in Western Bihar and in
most of the Chota Nagpur Division. In spite of floods in the districts of
Patna, Gaya, Muzaffarpur, Balasore and Cuttack which caused considerable
temporary distress, particularly in Patna and Gaya, the crops were not
seriously affected and the agricultural out-turn was up to the average.

3.   Vital Statistics.—The year was very healthy. Though some of the
figures are not altogether convincing, particularly those of the Monaharpur
and Palkot Circles (93.79 and 90.02, respectively), the birth rate (42.10)
reported was considerably above the average of the last few years, and the death
rate (29.14) was the lowest recorded since 1899. The rate of infant
mortality during the year was the lowest recorded in any province in India.

4.  Registration of Vital Occurrences.—The accurate registration of vital
occurrences is essential to a scientific investigation of the incidence of diseases
and of the success of the measures taken to combat them. The system
obtaining in rural areas depends on the sense of responsibility and the
intelligence of the village chaukidar and is therefore admittedly primitive
and capable of great improvement, which however can only be carried out
at a prohibitive cost. It is more disappointing to find that in certain areas
where registration is compulsory the figures are inaccurate and incomplete,
and the Lieutenant-Governor in Council will be glad if the Sanitary Commis-
sioner will take in consultation with the local authorities such measures
as will ensure more correct returns. The Government of India have recently
suggested the desirability of maintaining for a term of years a complete and
accurate record of the vital occurrences of a selected population living in
an area where conditions are more or less stable, and it is hoped that arrange-
ments will be shortly completed to bring the experiment into operation.

5.  The following account shows briefly the incidence of the chief diseases
during the year under report.

(i) Cholera.—The mortality from this disease was still below the average
of the last 10 years. It was most severe in the districts of Puri and Champa-
ran. The former station suffers every year on account of the large concourse
of pilgrims, but the mortality in Champaran could not be ascribed to any
definite cause. An outbreak in the Jharia Coal Fields was due to the use
of polluted water by the coolies employed in the mines. A scheme to supply