Streetwise Kolkata: A lane commemorating the Maratha Ditch still exists

The name Maratha Ditch Lane stands out among the others nearby and directly references the events that led to its creation. (Express photo by Neha Banka)

The name Maratha Ditch Lane stands out among the others nearby and directly references the events that led to its creation. In the mid-18th century, Janoji, son of Raghuji Bhonsle, who headed the Maratha forces, invaded the region from what forms modern-day Balasore in Odisha to Rajmahal in Jharkhand. Calcutta was an important base for the British and there were fears that the invasion would result in the British losing their hold over the city.

In his book ‘Space, Utopia and Indian Decolonization: Literary Pre-Figurations of the Postcolony’, author Sandeep Banerjee writes that the prospect of the invasion was so concerning for the British that the East India Company wrote to the then Nawab of Bengal, Alivardi Khan, to create an entrenchment around the city of Calcutta. After the request was granted to the British, work started on the excavation of this ditch.

Calcutta was an important base for the British and there were fears that the invasion would result in the British losing their hold over the city. (Express photo by Neha Banka)

While some authors say the excavation of the ditch was a joint effort, some historians disagree, indicating that the ditch was funded entirely by taxes taken from Indians.

British army man and author Charles Stewart in his book ‘History of Bengal’ writes “crowds of the inhabitants on the western side of the river Hooghly crossed over to Calcutta and implored the protection of the English, who in consequence of the general alarm, obtained permission of Alivardi Khan to dig an entrenchment round the territory”.

Stewart writes that the work on the ditch was stopped midway after the Maratha invaders did not reach Calcutta. “It is said 600 coolies and 300 Europeans were engaged in this work, the earth excavated being used to form a road on the inward or town side,” Stewart writes.

The lane has a handful of commercial businesses that have opened up shop on the ground floors of the century-old buildings here (Express photo by Neha Banka)

In the November 1926 edition of the Calcutta Municipal Gazette, Purna Chandra De writes, “The historic Marhatta Ditch is scarcely known and seen by our young men today; they even doubt the historicity of the ditch”.

But old maps of Calcutta, particularly A. Upjohn’s (1792-1793), specifically mark the presence of the Marhatta Ditch. The ditch, having not served any purpose, was slowly filled, a process that took several years, after which residential homes started coming up along the stretch. In the early years of the 1900s, the ditch was forded by bridges at several places.

Today, the lane lies several metres from Circular Canal and is bracketed by Nandalal Bose Lane and Pasupati Bose Lane on either side. Homes, rarely taller than two storeys, line this lane and most are crumbling and in dire need of repair. The narrow lane has somehow accommodated its residents while they go about their everyday lives: children play gully cricket in one part of the lane, while a group of women stand on steps in front of their homes talking about the day.

The lane has a handful of commercial businesses that have opened up shop on the ground floors of the century-old buildings here: a neighbourhood shop that sells everyday items and tidbits, and an electronic shop that also repairs phones. Freshly laundered clothes hang from every window. Most residents here traverse the bylanes on foot or by bicycles and motorcycles—the lane would struggle to accommodate a larger vehicle.

But there are signs that change is coming to one of the city’s oldest neighbourhoods. Just at the mouth of Maratha Ditch Lane, an old house is being demolished to be replaced with newer construction — a story plaguing every neighbourhood in the city.