Page 104 - Bahrain Gov Annual Reports (III)_Neat

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Included in the work done during the year was the resurfacing of the sea road, construction
of a pier for the Royal Air Force, opening a motor road to the shore opposite the Quarantine island,
building a stone parapet on the inner side of the sea road, arranging a piped water supply to the
municipal slaughter house, building a shop and store and two new rooms in the school at Hedd, on
behalf of the Government, as well as repairing and widening streets, public lighting, cleaning and
supervision of food markets and town cleaning.
The municipality continued to issue the ration cards to the people of Muharraq, Hedd and the
other villages on the island an undertaking which included the verification of every card
holder. Owing to their poverty some 700 households in Muharraq were unablo to buy their supplies
except in small quantities daily, an arrangement was made by the municipal authorities for issuing
daily ration cards.

The routine work at Hedd was continued throughout the year, an evil swamp owned by a man
who could not afford to fill it in was acquired by the municipality and is being reclaimed.
In spite of various measures to reduce expenditure and to increase the revenue the municipal
budget for 1363 anticipates a deficit of Rs. 12,500.
Budget estimates:—
Expenditure .. Rs. 60,580
Revenue .. Rs. 48,000
Deficit Rs. 12,580
Actual revenue and expenditure for 13C2 were
Revenue .. Rs. 51,109
Expenditure .. Rs. 52,582
The average annual revenue of the Muharraq municipality during the sixteen years that it has
existed is Rs. 46,170 and the expenditure averages Rs. 42,790.

WAKF DEPARTMENTS.
The revenue of the Sunni Wakf Department was Rs. 4,000 and that of the Shia Wakf
Department was Rs. 37,600.
There was some dissatisfaction among the Sunni Ulema against the Qadis who control the
wakfs owing to the Qadis refusal to pay in advance the proceeds collected from wakf gardens which
arc dedicated to the upkeep of mosques and the pay of mosque officials. A petition was presented
to the Government by a number of Imams and Muezzins on this subject. It was decided by the
Government that the Qadis acted rightly in refusing to advance the salaries out of wakf funds not
intended for this purpose.
The newly elected Shia Wakf Committee met regularly during the year. Owing to the high
price of dates a certain proportion of back debts was recovered from the tenants of wakf property.
New leases for date gardens were on a higher scale than in the previous years.
EDUCATION.

Government Boys' School.
{By Mr. F. J. Wakelin, Director of Education.)
School Statistic**
'
School. Number of Pupils. Number of Staff.
1st Term. 2nd Term. 1st Term. 2nd Term.
Secondary 55 50 5 5
Manama Primary 430 250 13 11
Muharraq Primary 340 350 12 15

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