Henzada 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.
Henzada Town
Head-quarters of the District of the same name in Lower Burma, situated in 17° 39' N. and 95° 30' E., on the western bank of the Irrawaddy, 9 miles below the bifurcation of the Bassein river, and no miles by rail from Rangoon. Henzada is said to have been founded early in the sixteenth century ; but, although it has been an important town for a long time, its history is uneventful. The population has increased steadily during the last thirty years, the total in 1901 being 24,756, of whom 21,530 were Buddhists, 2,145 Hindus, and 742 Musalmans. The Hindus have largely increased during the past decade, but the Musalmans show a falling off. The town is agree- ably situated, is well shaded by fine trees, and contains a large court- house, a jail, an extensive bazar near the steamer ghat, a hospital and other public buildings, all at no great distance from the river bank.
Henzada is a trade centre of some importance. Till recently its commerce has been wholly river-borne, but the new Rangoon-Bassein railway which passes through the town will probably alter the route of a good deal of the trade. It is the terminus of the western (Henzada- Bassein) section of the railway, and the Henzada station is connected by a steam ferry with Tharrawaw, the terminus of the eastern section on the farther side of the Irrawaddy. Two rice-mills and one saw-mill of recent construction are worked in the town, and milled rice is sent to Upper Burma by boat and to Rangoon by both rail and boat. This is the only export of importance. The town w-as constituted a munici- pality in 1874. The municipal income and expenditure during the ten years ending 1901 averaged Rs. 72,000 and Rs. 70,000 respectively.
In 1903-4 the totals were 1-2 lakhs and i-i lakhs. The principal sources of income in the last-named year were the house tax (Rs. 14,000), market dues (Rs. 46,000), and the conservancy tax (Rs. 8,000) ; and the principal items of expenditure were conservancy (Rs. 15,500), roads (Rs. 34,000), and hospital (Rs. 11,000). A municipal Anglo-vernacular school has 180 pupils, and other teaching institutions are managed by missionary bodies and others. The educational expenditure of the municipality in 1903-4 was Rs. 7,000. The municipal hospital has accommodation for 28 in-patients.
