During the
Maratha invasions of Bengal, the mercenaries employed by the
Marathas of Nagpur. In 1742, the president of the
East India Company in
Bengal petitioned the
nawab Alivardi Khan to create an entrenchment intended to circle the landward sides of
Calcutta. This request was immediately granted by
Alivardi Khan, and in 1743 the Indians and Europeans co-operated to excavate a 3-mile-long ditch north of
Fort William, which came to be known as the Maratha Ditch. However, the threat of
Maratha invasions ceased before the ditch could be completed and it was left unfinished. Subsequently, it marked the outer limits of Calcutta during the 19th century. After that, it became more or less useless as a defensive work, since the deteriorated ditch could only make the movement of troops and artillery significantly difficult. The ditch was partly paved in 1799 for the
Circular Road of Calcutta and was completely filled in 1893 for construction of the
Harrison Road. Today, a road in North
Kolkata by the name of Maratha Ditch Lane marks where the entrenchment once stood. ==References==