Page 284 - PERSIAN 8 1931_1940_Neat

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llio Council succeeded, however, in obtaining: permission to appoint their
own men to collect the taxes, as an experiment, for a period of ten daws during
which time the total receipts were about Rials 18,000. At this rate the vcarlv
receipts would amount to Rials 048,000 (about £7,700). Since then the amount
of taxes collected by, and received through, the Finance Office has increased
but so much as to satisfy the Council.
The chief improvement achieved by the Municipality during (he year was
the construction of a new slaughter house ut a distance of two miles from tfic
city.
As the result of a report sent to Tehran by the present Governor-General
instructions were received from the Ministry of Interior in the beginning of
July to cancel the agreement made in 1932 between the local authorities and the
Electric Light Factory, in connection with the supply of electric light to the
Municipal area, on the ground that the agreement had been drawn up in such a
way as to overlook the interests of the Municipal department. To arrive at a
compromise,'it was suggested to make certain modifications in (he terms, the
most important of which was the reduction of the period from ten to five years.
The Factory did not consent to any alterations and threatened to close down the
Factory. On the other hand, a sum of some Rials 100,000 which was due to tlio
Factory by the Municipality was withheld at the suggestion of the Governor
General, to induce the Factory to agree to the now terms. As the result of
private intervention by the Officer Commanding, Kerman Brigade, however, the
Governor-General eventually adopted a more lenient attitude, and the matter
was dropped for the time being.
The fruit trees in the province suffered considerable damage through
unusual hard frosts in early spring, as the result of which fruit of all kind
Agriculture. was scarce during summer. The out­
turn of wheat and barley was again
below normal, due to the fact that many under-ground water channels which
had been damaged by ihe Hoods in 1933 were still out of course. In August
the Governor-Gchcral' sent a report to Tehran on the unsatisfactory irrigation
conditions prevailing in Kerman, due, among other things, to the inability of
the land-owners to repair the above-mentioned channels. His Excellency sub­
mitted a proposal by which the work of reparation could he successfully* taken
in hand, if the Central Government could help by sanctioning a loan, from the
National Bank or other sources, of ten million Rials, Id ho paid back with in­
terest within a certain number of years. The last thing heard on this subject
was that the proposal had been forwarded to the Bank of Agriculture, who
would reply direct after examining the details.
The year was a record one so far as the pistachio crop was concerned; the
total out-turn in the province having been estimated at between 400,1)00 and
500,000 Tabriz Mans (each Tabriz Man being equivalent to about 1(>.! ounces),
and the prices ranged between Rials 16 to 18 for the ‘ fair average quality \
The pistachio nut having proved to be one of the most valuable articles of
export, great efforts are being made by land-owners to extend the cultivation of
the tree in the province.
Orders were received from Tehran early in the year that, in future, cultiva­
tion of rice was to be restricted to certain districts in Gilan and • Mazandaran.
Asa considerable amount of rice has always been cultivated in the warmer dis­
tricts of this province, and in Jiruft in particular, the land-owners concerned
have kept,on making representations through the local authorities, inviting
attention to the losses which would be sustained by. them if they stopped rice
cultivation altogether. Instructions were therefore received at the end of the
year permitting the continuance of rice cultivation under certain conditions.
llcnna has for many years past been the. chief article of cultivation in the
districts of Bam and Narmasliir, the yearly crop amounting on an average to
over one million Rials.
The demand for this commodity has decreased steadily during recent years,
as the result of cessation(of export to Russia and decreased consumption^ in
Persia, and land-owners have decided to reduce the amount of cultivation. The
only substitute suggested so far is the indigo plant, which could he grown
satisfactorily under the same conditions. The question has led to a project of
reviving the old indigo industry in the province on modern lines. The mutter
has been taken up by the present Governor-General since his arrival in Kerman,
and negotiations have been going on with the leading Persian traders in Bombay,