Page 132 - Bahrain Gov Annual Reports (IV)_Neat

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Cantonment which is situated on the Jufair Road and along a road leading west from the Jufair Road.
Here a number of British firms have built houses for their European employees, these include stone houses
and prefabricated wooden dwellings ; most of them arc bungalow style. The town water supply was
extended to provide for the new settlement. The disadvantage of the site is that it is low lying and water
is very close to the surface. In all this district brackish water is found a few feet below the ground.
Inside Manama town some progress was made in widening a road which cuts through the town
from north to south, this road is a continuation of Barrett Street and will eventually emerge opposite the
Catholic Church. In one section of this street, between the roofed bazaar and Telegraph Road, 16 shops
were demolished on the west side of the street. A committee of notables was appointed by the Government
to assess the value of the property, they valued the shops at Rs. 88,000, most of the shops being very small.
The Government paid the full compensation to the owners of the property and thus acquired the frontage
on the street. Owners of shops further back behind the shops which were demolished, paid to the
Government three-eighths of the value of the shops which had been removed in return for obtaining a
frontage on to the widened street. Small pieces of ground along the west side of the street, which were
not required for widening, on the site of the old shops, were sold to the owners of the second line shops.
The owners of the shops on the opposite side of the street, who benefited by its being widened, contributed
one-eighth of the assessed value of the demolished shops. The amount paid by the owners of the second
line shops was Rs. 42,800, including the price of pieces of ground bought by them. Their neighbours
across the road paid Rs. 13,500 and the Government contributed Rs. 31,600. This somewhat complicated
arrangement was readily agreed to by the people concerned and worked satisfactorily. Conditions were
made regarding the type of shops to be built in the street so that, although their size varied, the shop
fronts would present a uniform appearance.
The portion of the road which is to be widened south of Telegraph Road presents considerable
difficulties as several Mosques and Matems arc situated alongside the road and many of the houses arc
large two-storied buildings. The road runs through the Bahama residential quarter and here the occupants
of the houses do not regard it as of any particular advantage to live on a wider street.
Rent Assessment Committee.—During the year eleven cases were submitted to the committee,
six of the houses were in Manama and five were in Muharraq ; six eases came from the Agency Court,
four eases were sent by the Bahrain Courts and in one instance the landlord and tenant themselves applied
to the committee. It would appear that the question of rent control is gradually solving itself. As more
houses are built there is more competition and less opportunity for extortion.
The department referred 261 applications for registration of ownership to the Bahrain Court for
verification. In most of the eases the applicants claimed the property on which they lived by virtue of
long occupation.

WAQF DEPARTMENTS
The revenue of the Shia Waqf Department was Rs. 86,800, an increase of approximately Rs. 7,000
over the previous year’s revenue. In view of the fact that much of the Waqf property consists of date
gardens which produced a veiy poor harvest the income was satisfactory. The increase was partly due
to old leases coming to an end and new tenants offering higher rents for gardens and house property. At
the end of the year the department had Rs. 1,23,000 on deposit and in the bank and outstanding rents
amounting to about Rs. 40,000.
In the statement of revenue and expenditure income is shown from the properties which are
dedicated to Mosques, Matarm and for various charitable purposes. The expenditure includes the upkeep
of Waqf property, repairs to Mosques and payments to religious persons and to Matams, the last item
represents the expenditure during Muharram, including the fees of the preachers in the Matains and the
cost of the Muharram processions. It is estimated that about 5,000 persons took part in the Muharram
celebration and a large proportion of these men were provided with meals. Although the nature of the
Muharram procession in Bahrain is changing, the number of persons taking part in it docs not appear
to be decreasing.