'Reports of administration for 1918 of divisions and districts of the occupied territories in Mesopotamia. Volume I' [‎202r] (408/470)

(c) Tapu. —Up to the time of writing there is no Mamur of Tapu in this district,
and thus no revenue has been derived from the registration of tapu documents. >
I am applying for a Mamur of Tapu, as I think the time has now come to register
all immovable property in this district.
(d) Waqf. —Shatrah seems to be exceptionally devoid of waqf property. No
doubt the troublous times through which Shatrah has passed has made the acquisition
of property far too difficult for owners to part with it lightly.
(e) Miscellaneous and Special Revenues : ( 1 ) ‘Araq. —Owing to the fact that
the majority of the inhabitants of Shatrah are Muhammadans, there has been
very little sale of ‘araq in the town, and no ‘araq contract was made. With the
safety of the place assured, the Jewish population are rapidly returning and sales
will increase. It should be possible during the coming year to fix up a contract
with the Nasiriyah contractor.
( 2 ) Fish Tax. —On arrival here I found that the Turkish Government official
had “ farmed ” out the fish tax for three years. I considered it advisable to allow
the contractor to complete the terms of his old agreement. The annual income
derived from this farm is Rs. 833/8/-.
(3) Tobacco Tax. —The usual fees are charged for licences to sell tobacco.
They are Rs. 7/8/- per shop and Rs. 3/12/- per hawker for half-yearly licences.
The amount realised for the last half-year has been approximately Rs. 210/-.
(4) Balam Registration. —As the water has only just come down the Gharraf,
the registration of balams is only now commencing. Before the flood subsided in
August last it was possible to register about 30 balams. The income up to the present
has been Rs. 109/8/-.
3. Irrigation. —One large irrigation project has been carried through, though
its effect remains to be seen. For years past all the flood water of the Gharraf has
been running practically to waste down to the Hammar Lake. A certain percentage
of water found its way into the Hor Sudaifir and Hor Albu ‘Ajul and was used for
rice cultivation, but the majority passed through to the chain of lakes between
the Gharraf and the Hammar. The result was that year by year the Bad‘ah itself
gradually enlarged, while the Shatrah River has been gradually silted up. Had no
steps been taken to adjust this, the next few years would have found Shatrah without
any river at all. It would then have automatically died or become a desert town
such as Khamisiyah or Zubair. But this was only a secondary consideration
compared with the irrigation of the Khafajah, A1 Ibrahim and Azairij lands. In
years gone by all these tribes were in a most flourishing condition, and if the numbers
of disused irrigation channels existent in these tribal territories can be considered
any criterion, the winter crop must have been enormous. It was, therefore, to
restore these lands to their former glory that the irrigation project was undertaken.
The Bad‘ah has been bunded and four by-passes made to regulate the supply of
water to the tribes down stream of the Bad‘ah bund. These tribes are the ‘Abudah,
Bani Zaid and Bani Sa‘id. Certain short cuts have also been made to increase the
capacity of the Shatrah river. A better idea of the scheme will be gathered from
the attached map, in which all by-passes and short cuts have been shown.
Up to the present, owing to unfinished work, no water has been allowed down the
Shatrah River, but by the time this report is typed water should have reached
Suwaij. This will be three months earlier than last year. It is hoped that water
will to a certain extent scour out the old river bed. When the project was commenced
at the end of August, it was hoped that it would be possible to clean out the river
bed as far as Suwaij. This, owing to the labour difficulty, has been impossible,
but the important items of the scheme have been carried through. The Bad‘ah is
bunded, the four by-passes are made and five long short-cuts have been excavated.
This year the water will not reach A1 Ibrahim or the Azarij, but it should be
possible next year to enlarge upon the project, clean out the river bed, and force
water down to these two tribes.
4. Agricultural. —It has been impossible to attempt to improve the wheat
or barley cultivation. It was suggested that Karun wheat seed should be sold to
the tribes of this district, but the supply was uncertain and the ’suggestion dropped.
I have tried to persuade the sarkals to plant a larger percentage of wheat this year,
but they do not like the idea. Barley is the safest and the most profitable crop
in every way, and the Arab is, on the whole, very conservative.