119 



Banaganpiily Jaghirc. 



[April 



wear; and by far the larger proportion finds its way to the 

 Hyderabad market. 



The diamonds produced here are cut and set at the town 

 of Banaganpiily, and used to form an article of trade. 



Toicn and Fort of Banaganpiily. — The town of Bana- 

 ganpiily lies in the plain, near the entrance to a broad defile, 

 formed by the branching off of two parallel ranges of low 

 hills ; one taking a north easterly direction, the other a 

 little south of east. The town is divided by a stream of 

 clear water, called the Zurairoo, into two parts • which are 

 again sub-divided as follows : Condapettah and Suntapettah 

 on the right bank, Kungrazpettah and Kusbahpettah 

 on the left. The buildings generally have an ancient ap- 

 pearance > 



The fort is also situated on the left bank. From the cur- 

 sory glance I had of it, it appears to be little better than the 

 ordinary village forts scattered over the Ceded Districts— 

 and apparently loosely built of limestone cemented with 

 mud. Its round bastions are connected by curtains, pierced 

 with loop holes for matchlocks. 



The entrance is from the north. Round the whole runs a 

 ditch now nearly dry: the bottom partly cultivated and 

 partly choked up with rank vegetation. The walls enclose 

 the Nuwab's zenaneh, his residence and those of the retain- 

 ers attached to his person. In the pettah at the northern 

 side of the fort are some strong and defensible houses of 

 stone. 



; Our road lay along the southern and western faces of the 

 fort, on our right the fort ditch, and on our left the Zurairoo, 

 which we crossed to some good encamping ground, in a tama- 

 rind tope on its right bank. 



Population. — The town of Banaganpiily is said to contain 

 about 12,000 houses — 700 of Hindus, the remainder occu- 

 pied by Mahomedans. 



Allowing each house to average five inmates, this will give 

 a population of 6,000 souls. Two or three months ago, sub- 

 sequent to the Company's resumption of the Jaghire, a body 

 of about TOO Puttans, formerly in the pay of the Nuwab, left 

 the place for Hyderabad ; where, it is currently reported, 



