Benares Tahsil
This article has been extracted from THE IMPERIAL GAZETTEER OF INDIA , 1908. OXFORD, AT THE CLARENDON PRESS. |
Note: National, provincial and district boundaries have changed considerably since 1908. Typically, old states, ‘divisions’ and districts have been broken into smaller units, and many tahsils upgraded to districts. Some units have since been renamed. Therefore, this article is being posted mainly for its historical value.
Benares Tahsil
Northern tahsil of Benares District, United Provinces, comprising the parganas of Dehat Amanat, Kaswar Sarkar, Pandrah, Katehir, Sultanipur, Kol Aslah, Athganwan, Shivapur, and Jalhupur, and lying between 25° 12' and 25° 35' N. and 82° 40' and 83° 12' E., with an area of 464 square miles. Population fell from 580,467 in 1891 to 557,541 in 1901. There are 989 villages and two towns, including Benares City (population, 209,331), the District and tahsil head-quarters. The demand for land revenue in 1903-4 was Rs. 4,94,000, and for cesses Rs. 77,000, The density of population, 1,202 persons per square mile, is considerably above the District average, owing to the inclusion of a large city. The tahsil forms an elevated plain, bounded in part on the south and east by the Barna and Ganges, and on the north by the Gumti. The northern portion is also drained by the Nand, a tributary of the Gumti. The soil is generally a rich loam, and irrigation is provided chiefly by wells, though tanks or ihils serve a small area. In 1903-4 the area under cultivation was 326 square miles, of which 159 were irrigated.
