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Imperial Gazetteer of India, v. 18, p. 260.


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a6o MYSORE TJI UK
was Rs. 1,40,000. The north-west angle is bounded by the Cauvery
and Lakshmantirtha, but the main drainage flows south to the Kabbani.
The country is undulating, and the principal height is the Chamundi
hill (3,489 feet). Channels. from the Cauvery and Lakshmantirtha
irrigate some villages in the east and north-west. There are many
tanks. The `wet' lands have generally very good soil. The `dry'
lands vary, but are mostly shallow and stony. Coco-nut, areca-nut,
betel-vines, plantains, and vegetables are largely grown round the city.
Mysore City.-The dynastic capital of the Mysore State, and
residence of the Maharaja ; also head-quarters of the District and taluk
of the same name. It is situated in 12° 18' N. and 76° 4o' E., at the
north-west base of the Chamundi hill, on the Mysore State Railway.
The population fell from 74,048 in 1891 to 68,111 in igor, the
decrease being due to plague. The city covers an area of 71 square
miles, and is divided into seven muhallas : namely, the Fort, Lashkar,
Devaraj, Krishnaraj; Mandi, Chamaraj, and Nazarabad. The original
city was built in a valley formed by two ridges running north and south.
In recent years it has been completely transformed by extensions to
the north and west, and by the erection of many fine public buildings;
but the old parts were very crowded and insanitary. A special Board
of Trustees for improvements was formed in 1903, and Mysore
promises to become a very handsome city in course of time. It is
administered by a municipality, which in 1903-4 had an income of
a-a lakhs, of which 1•z lakhs was derived from taxes and Rs. 65,000
from octroi. The expenditure was a-z lakhs, including Rs. 39,000 on
public works, Rs. 31,000 on conservancy, and Rs. 1o,ooo on education
and charitable grants. Even in the past important sanitary measures
have been carried out. In 1886 a complete system of drainage was
provided for the fort, and the precincts of the palace were opened out
and improved. One of the most beneficial undertakings was the filling
in of the portentous great drain known as Purnaiya's Nullah, origin-
ally excavated in the time of that minister with the object of bringing
the water of the sacred Cauvery into Mysore. It did not fulfil this
purpose, and simply remained a very deep and large noisome sewer.
Its place has now been taken by a fine wide road, called (after the
Gaikwar of Baroda) the Sayaji Rao Road,. flanked on either side by
ranges of two-storeyed shops of picturesque design, called the Lans-
downe Bazars. At the same time a pure water-supply was provided
by the formation of the Kukarhalli reservoir towards the high ground
on the west, from which water was laid on to all parts of the city in
iron mains. This has since been supplemented by a high-level
reservoir, the water in which is drawn from the Cauvery river near
Anandur, and forced up with the aid of turbines erected there. The
new quarter, called (after the late Maharaja) Chamarajapura, more than
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