Secunderabad
| Secunderabad | |
|---|---|
| [[Image:|250px| ]] | |
| Presidency: Madras | |
| Coordinates: | |
| Altitude: | |
| Present Day Details | |
| Place Name: | Secunderabad (twinned with Hyderabad) |
| State/Province: | Andhra Pradesh |
| Country: | India |
| Transport links | |
| Nizam's Guaranteed State Railway | |
Secunderabad is a cantonment town that is now generally considered a part of Hyderabad. The villages of Trimulgherry and Bolarum are now suburbs of Secunderabad.
History
The town was founded during the reign of the Nizam Sikander Jah on land ceded by him to the British in 1800. It remained under British control, whereas neighbouring Hyderabad was ruled by the Nizam. Secunderabad had a large military garrison and the British stationed a Subsidiary Force there, complimented by the Nizam's Contingent at Hyderabad.
Transport
Secunderabad was the location for the headquarters of the Nizam's Guaranteed State Railway, the first of several railways to be constructed by the Indian princely states.
Description in 1837
The British barracks at Secunderabad were described by Dr Archibald Shanks, Surgeon of the Corps, in 1837 in the Madras Quarterly Medical Journal (the full description can be read here on Google Books. He was stationed in the cantonment with the 55th Regiment of Foot and describes the barracks to indicate how they have been the cause of extensive sickness and mortality amongst the troops.
He notes that the burial ground for HM troops is very nearby and "crowded with tombstones", with names totalling thousands of British soldiers. He states that records show that between 1804 and 1836 and average of 73 deaths occured per year.
The proximity of the barracks to open drains were a cause for the Doctor's concern and he deems the over-crowded, poorly ventilated barracks objectionable in location and construction. New barracks, however, were soon to be constructed. The regimental hospital was more acceptable, on higher, drier ground. Although not big enough (he notes it can take 100 patients, whereas sometimes closer to 200 beds were needed) it was well ventilated.