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'Government of Bahrain Annual Report for Year 1363 (January 1944 - December 1944)' [‎327r] (31/76)

The record is made up of 1 volume (37 folios). It was created in 1945. It was written in English. The original is part of the British Library: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity. .

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29
MANAMA MUNICIPALITY.
{From the report of the Municipal Secretary, Mr. Mohamed Saleh Shater.)
The revenue in 1363 was Rs. 1 ,28,000, the principal sources of revenue were ; shop tax, producing
Rs. 33,900, Government subsidy, Rs. 24,000, house tax which produced Rs. 25,000 and a quarter of
the vehicle tax, collected by the Government, which amounted to over Rs. 8,000. The expenditure
was Rs. 1 ,43,000. The largest items of expenditure were town cleaning, Rs. 29,800, road repairs,
Rs. 26,100, Municipal staff, Rs. 25,700 and transport, Rs. 24,200. Excess of expenditure over
revenue was Rs. 15,000, this was met from the Municipality's reserve fund which at the end of the
year amounted to Rs. 1 ,16,000.
No important major works were carried out owing to the difficulty in obtaining labour and the
high cost of work and the price of materials. The Municipality confined itself to routine duties such
as town cleaning and keeping roads and streets in as good order as possible.
A portion of the unreclaimed sea shore, inside the Sea Road on the Manama waterfront belonging
to Shaikh Mubarak bin Hamad was filled with stone at his expense and an area on the south of the
town belonging to Khan Bahadur Abdul Aziz al Kosaibi was filled with town rubbish with a covering
of earth also at the owner's expense. No further progress was made in filling other sections of sea
inside the Sea Road. These areas are all privately owned and the high cost of stone and lack of
transport for carrying sand from Suk al Khamis makes the cost of such reclamation prohibitive.
The usual town cleaning was carried out throughout the year and the streets were watered
during the summer. The lack of cement and both metal and eathenware drain pipes has caused
difficulty over house drainage as gutch is unsuitable for use where it is in contact with water. Over
a hundred householders applied to the Municipality to repair house drains. During the year over
3,000 dead animals were removed and burned at Suk al Khamis. The main sewer from the Municipal
Garden to the sea was cleaned out and a number of masonry rubbish containers were built. New
shelters were erected to protect the trees on the streets. The attempt over many years to grow trees
along the main roads has only met with small success, the proportion of trees which die or are blown
over is extremely high. After each rainy season a number of trees die from salt poisoning which
results from the rain splashing the salty soil against the trees. Several thousands of trees have been
planted along the roads and new trees are continuously being planted but only a few hundreds
are flourishing.
The Municipality continued to take a large and active part in rationing and food control,
not only in Manama but in all the villages in Bahrain island. Ration cards for Manama, the villages
and for Hedd were issued by the Manama Municipality. The Municipal authorities supervised 90
shops where controlled goods were sold and 14 Government ration shops. During the first half of
the year the Municipality arranged the sale to the local butchers of over 17,000 sheep and goats and
1.400 head of cattle and in the second part of the year the Municipality took over the direct purchase
and sale of meat to the public on behalf of the Food Control. The various duties connected with
rationing and food control which are now undertaken by the staff of the Manama Municipality probably
occupy them more than do their normal municipal duties.
On the suggestion of the Government the Municipal Council took up the question of ruined
stone houses which exist in the south districts of the town. These houses have been in a state of
semi ruin for many years and were used for unsuitable purposes. The owners were given a time m
which to demolish them or to repair them or to wall them in, in almost every case the owners walled
them in.
The Council met 17 times during the year and the Inspection sub-committee met 20 times.
During the year the Municipal rules were revised and edited. A war allowance, at the same rate
as that granted in other Government Departments, was approved for the Municipal employees.

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Content

This volume is the Annual Report of the Government of Bahrain for the year 1363 AH (1944) and gives te details of the Revenue and Expenditure of the Bahrain State and contains notes on the activities of the various Government departments, as well as the budget 1364 and some particulars of importance which took place in Bahrain during the year. It includes text, graphs and tables. The report appears to be compiled from reports from various Government departments and officials. An Index appears on on folio 314r, followed by a General Review by Charles Dalrymple Belgrave, Adviser to the Government of Bahrain (folios 314v-315r).

The contents are divided into the following sections and sub-sections:

  • Budget 1363 (folio 316r);
  • Revenue and Expenditure (folios 315v, 317r-317v);
  • The Diving Industry (folio 318r-318v);
  • Police and Public Security (folios 319r-320v): State Police, Special Police, Naturs, Police Pay, Duties and Administration, Jail, Promotions, Law and Order, List of Police Prosecutions in the Bahrain Courts 1363, and List of Prosecutions in the Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. Courts 1363;
  • Public Health (folios 321r-326r): 'Bahrain Government Public Health Report, 1363-1944' by Dr R H B Snow, Senior Medical Officer (Bahrain Government Hospital, Short Notes on the Statistics, Predominating Male-Out Patient Diseases, Predominating Police Out-Patient Diseases, Male In-Patients, Isolation Hospital, Major Operations, Minor Operations, Injections, Laboratory, X-Rays, Bahrain Government Dispensaries, and The Future of Dispensaries and Public Health), Female Statistics, report by Dr I M A Doeg, Lady Medical Officer (Out-Patients, Female In-Patients, and Notes);
  • Land Registration Department, from the report of Khan Sahib Mohammed Khalil Memon, Superintendent, Land Registration Department (folio 326);
  • Judicial (folio 326v): Bahrain Courts;
  • Municipalities (folios 327r-328v): Manama Municipality, from the report of the Municipal Secretary, Mr Mohamed Saleh Shater, (Manama Municipality Budget 1364), Muharraq Municipality, from the report of the Municipal Secretary, Mr Ahmed Al Omran (Finance, Municipal Activities, and Muharraq Municipality Budget 1364);
  • Education (folios 329-332): Report on Boys' Education in Bahrain by Mr F J Wakelin, Director of Education (School Statistics, Staff, The Secondary School, The Hostel, The Primary Schools, The Village Schools, Medical, Equipment, Extra-Mural Activities, and Grants and Donations), Government Girls' Schools, report by Mrs [Marjorie] Belgrave, Directress of Female Education, The Technical School, report by Mr G E Hitchings (Students, Staff, Finance, and General);
  • Minors Department, from report by the Superintendent of the Minors' Department, Mr Mohamed Dowaicer (folios 332v-333r).
  • Agriculture (folios 333r-333v);
  • Passport Department, from the report of Mr Ibrahim Khalfan, Passport Officer (folios 333v-334r);
  • Food Control, report by Mr G W R Smith, Director of Customs and Food Controller, Bahrain (folios 334r-335v, 338r);
  • State Engineer's Department, report by Group Captain H P G Leigh, State Engineer (folios 336r-337r, 338v-340v);
  • Customs, report by Mr G W R Smith, Director of Customs and Port Officer (folios 342v-344v);
  • Oil Gauging, report by Mr G E Hutchings (folios 344v-345v): Oil Royalty Quantities 1944, Bahrain and Arabian Crude Oil 1944, Annual Production of Crude Oil, and Inspection of Petroleum Cargoes 1944;
  • Local Industries (folio 346r): Boat Building, Weaving, and Metal Workers;
  • General (folio 346v): Presentation of Sword to His Highness, Muharram Celebrations, British Officials, "Al Bahrain" [ al-Baḥrayn newspaper], Superintendent of Public Works Department, Floods, Zubara, Obituary (Haj Sulman Matar);
  • Budget, 1364 (folios 347r-348r).

On folio 348r there is an inscription that reads 'The Times of India Press, Bombay'. Handwritten annotations and corrections are present (for example, folio 314v).

Extent and format
1 volume (37 folios)
Arrangement

This file contains an index (folio 314r) which references pages of the report.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: Folios 312-349.

Written in
English in Latin script
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'Government of Bahrain Annual Report for Year 1363 (January 1944 - December 1944)' [‎327r] (31/76), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/R/15/1/750/9, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100024140829.0x000034> [accessed 28 March 2024]

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