Page 239 - Bahrain Gov Annual Reports (III)_Neat

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An additional garage was built of stone, mud, lime and sand to house two lorries. It cost
Rs. 3.000 although no cement was used, this was about si* times what it would have cost before the
war.
Municipal elections were held during the month of Ramadhan for the new council which was
due to take office at the new year. A new method of voting was adopted, this is described in the
report on Hedd. It proved more successful than the old method and was more reliable in a community
where most of the voters were illiterate. Young and energetic men were encouraged to offer them­
selves as candidates but although this type of citizen is most noisily active in criticising the policy of
municipal councillors when it came to the point of standing for election scarcely any of them agreed to
come forward. Seven members were elected and afterwards seven members were nominated by the
Government, among the new councillors there were only three who had not served on previous councils.
Both municipal councils would benefit by some new blood.
There was a serious fire in a barasti area situated in a maze of narrow lanes and blank alleys in
the Halat-Abu-Mahr district. A number of houses were entirely destroyed but no lives were lost.
The Manamah fire-engine had difficulty in approaching the scene of the fire and was only able to do so
after several houses had been demolished. A committee was organised to distribute the funds which
were contributed by the Government and the public for the relief of the fire victims who were mostly
poor people.
The municipality took an active part in assisting the Food Control by issuing ration cards to
the people of Muharraq and the villages on the island and also by selling meat when the sale of meat
was taken over by the Food Controller.
The fish, meat and vegetable markets in Muharraq are still barasti buildings. Though they
arc supervised by the municipality it is difficult to keep them properly clean. They are the property
of a senior member of the Ruling Family.
Many repairs and additions to Government buildings, schools, offices and dispensaries were
carried out by the municipality on behalf of the Government during the year.
New Municipality at Hedd.—Hedd, though a small place, is the third largest town in Bahrain.
It occupies a long narrow strip of sand projecting into the sea at the south-eastern end of Muharraq
island. The population is about 4000, consisting mainly of pure Arabs of the Bin-Ali, Saada, Musallam
and other tribes, all of them are Sunni; most of the men are divers though in recent years many of
them have taken to working in the oil-fields. At one time Hedd was a prosperous place but some
years before the war it fell upon evil days. The people are inclined to be independent and still cling
to their tribal customs, more than in any other part of Bahrain. During the war Hedd and the three
island villages beyond it became centres of smuggling. The Government has there a Police Station,
a Dispensary and Boys' and Girls' schools, all these institutions were unpopular in the beginning but
are now appreciated.
In 1353 the Government granted Rs. 2.400 a year to the Muharraq Municipality for work in
Hedd. During the last ten years this money was spent on cleaning the town, which being built on
sand with the sea on three sides of it is cleaner than most towns, and on widening the main street
Which was made passable for cars from end to end.
In 1364 His Highness Shaikh Sulman reviewed the position and decided to inaugurate a
municipality at Hedd. Before this, two local notables from Hedd had represented the town on the
Muharraq Council. A public election was held and a method was adopted for the first time in Bahrain,
Which it is hoped will be followed in succeeding municipal elections. Instead of any voter being able
to vote for any other person possessing the qualifications necessary for a member of the council, which
in previous elections resulted in numbers of people polling a handful of votes, the members of
the community wishing to stand for election were invited to submit their names to the Government.
After a good deal of hesitation, and some persuasion, a number of Hedd notables agreed to stand
for election. On the polling day large sealed boxes, with a slit to allow the voting cards to be
dropped in, were set up in a row in an open space in the centre of the town, each one with the
candidate's name above it, in large letters. The candidates and the leading townsfolk sat round the
square watching the voting. Every householder had been issued with a voting ticket. So much-