Coll 28/10 ‘Persia. Diaries; Meshed Consular Jany 1931 – May 1940. Khorassan Political 1934 – May 1940. Khorassan Fortnightly Reports’ [‎537v] (1077/1301)

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GOVE RNME NT DEPARTMENTS.
5. Opium. -^Pl^crop in Khorasan has
suffered severely from disease and is report
ed to be less than half the usual. The
price has also fallen.
Military. —The Indian firm of N. A.
Mullick has contracted to supply Persian
troops in the Sarhad, Zahidan and Zabul
with rations. The value of the contract
is said, to be about 18,000 Tomans 10,000 Persian dinars, or a gold coin of that value. per
mensem. The firm has received an
advance of 12,000 Tomans 10,000 Persian dinars, or a gold coin of that value. to erect a flour
mill at Kwash.
An order has issued to the effect that in
future half of the conscripts will be trained
at the nearest centre to their homes, while
the remainder from the same district will
be sent elsewhere for training. The object
appears to be to effect economy in trans
ferring conscripts, while at the same time
ensuring that very large batches from one
area shall not remain together.
Of the two Regiments by which the
Khorasan Brigade is to be increased, one
is to be raised at Bujnurd and the other at
Meshed.
Inconvenience to the public has been
caused at Birjand owing to the Military
Department having more or less comman
deered all supplies of building materials for
the construction of new barracks there.
Tenders have been called for, for the supply
of rations for a strength of 600 horses. It is
as yet not clear what motive exists for the
increase of Military forces in East Persia.
Roads. —The Kwash-Iransheher road has
been completed as far as Karvindah and is
open to motor traffic. The road from
Meshed to Turbat-i-Jam (and incidentally
to H. I. M. the Shah's newly acquired pro
perty at Fariman) is being metalled.
Gendarmerie. —The road-guards at Bir
jand have been moved out of the Military
barracks into a rented building in the town.
The municipal pipe supply of water is limi
ted to certain hours and the Amnieh then
post guards on all taps, including those in
private houses, to ensure that practically
all the water flows to their temporary
barracks.
Customs. —All exports from Birjand,
even to other parts of Persia have now to
be produced to the Excise Officer and
sealed before despatch. The inevitable
charges have to be met and ‘Checking
Posts ’ have been established on the Zahid
an and Meshed roads, where unless a
suitable douceur is provided, every sort of
difficulty is raised by the petty officials in
charge.
Justice. Law and Order. —All serious
criminal offences in Khorasan are in future
to be tried by Military Courts. These in
clude Murder, Highway Robbery, Frontier
affrays and “ Spying.”
Orbelian, a Persian Armenian previously
employed in the Revenue Department, and
who was arrested on a charge of supplying
information to the Russians, has been
been sentenced to death.
Sallih Kayyat, a Persian Turk has been
sentenced to 15 years imprisonment on a
similar charge-.
The Gendarmerie have had several affrays
with smugglers near the Afghan border in
which both sides have suffered casualties.
House breaking offences have recently
greatly increased in Meshed. Turkoman
refugees are said to be the offenders.
A cold blooded murder recently took
place near His Majesty’s Consulate-General
as the result of a dispute about a prostitute.
The corpse of a soldier was recently found
just outside the town. Murder is suspected
but the body bears no signs of violence.
REFUGEES.
6 . A continuous stream of Russian refu
gees arrives at Meshed and the villages near
the frontier are said to be full of them.
Some 600 families of Turkomans are to
be sent to the Nishapur District. Veramin,
about 8 farsakhs from Tehran has been
suggested as the destination of other Tur
koman refugees, but as some 8,500 families
are said to be in Khorasan, it is difficult
to see where they can be provided with work.
Russians in Meshed are reduced to begg
ing in the streets. A few have been sent to
other towns. Three Russians and one woman
with a child, were sent to Zahidan and it
is reported that more will follow. No less
suitable place can be imagined. The three
already there, enquired if they could be
sent to Karachi to seek work. On learning
that this was out of the question they took
up casual work as blacksmiths, but taking
advantage of their plight they are not given
the normal wages, and eke out an existence
bordering on starvation.
15 Turkomans arrived at Birjand. They
stated that many more were to follow. They
had no instructions and no work, and did
not know whether their destination was
Birjand or ultimately Sistan.
HEALTH.
7. Malaria has greatly increased at Zahi
dan and nearly every house is said to con
tain a victim to the disease. Dysentry
is rife at Meshed.