Calcutta, Old and New; A Historical & Descriptive Handbook to the City

This historic book may have numerous typos, missing text or index. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. 1907. Not illustrated. Excerpt: ... PART 11. CHAPTER I. TWENTIETH CENTURY CALCUTTA. Calcutta, the chief city of Bengal, the seat of the Supreme Government, and the Metropolis of India, stands in Lat. 22° 33' N., and Long. 88° 23' E. It is situated about 100 miles from the sea on the left bank of the western branch of the Ganges, called by Europeans the Hooghly and by the people of the country, who reverence it as a holy stream, "Mother Ganges" or the Bhagiratti. The main stream of the Ganges has, as a matter of fact, long since deserted this part of its delta, and now reaches the sea through the Hurringotta and the Megna, far to the eastward. But according to native tradition, the Hooghly was once the sacred stream, and an old temple which, till a few years ago, stood near the tank to the south of the Aliporc Jail, and was believed to be 600 years old, is said to have been built on the bank of the Ganges, which at that time followed the line of Tolly's Nullah past Kalighat. The width of the Hooghly at Armenian Ghat is about 600 yards, but at other parts it widens to nearly a mile. Calcutta occupies a space along the bank of the river of about 4£ miles, estimated from Chitpore on the north, to Kidderpore on the south, and with an average width of a mile and a half from east to west, that is, from the river bank to the Circular Road, which forms the eastern boundary. The area may be put at seven square miles, and the length of roads in the town is about 120 miles. The ground on which Calcutta is built is a part of the alluvial deposits of the Gangetic delta, and is elevated not more than 16 or 18 feet above the mean sea level. Excavations that have been made for tanks and foundations shew that to a depth of about 40 feet the surface formation is an alternation of sand and clay beds. A...