Kurseong Town
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.
Kurseong Town
(Karsiang).— Head-quarters of the subdivision of the same name in Darjeeling District, Bengal, situated in 26° 53' N. and 88° 17' E., on the Lower Himalayas, 4,860 feet above the sea, about 20 miles south of Darjeeling. Population (1901), 4,469. Kur- seong is, like Darjeeling, a hill station, but does not enjoy the same reputation as a sanitarium. The town is situated on the Darjeeling- Himalayan Railway and is a centre of the tea trade. It was consti- tuted a municipality in 1879. The income during the decade ending 1 901-2 averaged Rs. 10,000, and the expenditure Rs. 9,600. In 1903-4 the income was Rs. 14,000, of which Rs. 9,000 was derived from a tax on houses and lands and Rs. 3,000 from a conservancy rate ; the expenditure in the same year was also Rs. 14,000. Unfiltered water is supplied from a municipal reservoir, which is fed by springs. The town contains the usual public offices, including a sub-jail with accommodation for 24 prisoners, and a dispensary with 16 beds. The principal educational institutions are for the benefit of Europeans and Eurasians: namely, the Victoria boys' school founded in 1879, "^^'ith 187 boys in 1903-4; and the Dow Hill girls' school founded in 1898 and having 76 girls on its rolls in 1903-4, both of which are aided by Government.
