'Administration Report of the Persian Gulf for the Year 1936' [‎20r] (39/74)

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March, impairing the traffic and mail service for about a week. No new
alignments of roads worthy of note were opened during the year. The
Kerman-Jiruft motor road is still in abeyance.
(6) Security. —The security on all motor roads throughout the province
was satisfactory, and no attacks on motor vehicles were reported.
{c) Posts and Telegraphs. —No new post and telegraph offices were
opened in the province during the year. The postal services maintained in
Kermaii were the same as reported in the previous year.
{d) Wireless. —The Wireless station remained closed throughout the
year except for testing purposes once a week.
(<?) A viation. —No civil or military aeroplanes visited Kerman during
the year, and the two aerodromes continued to remain uncared for.
Local Government.
9. Condition of the country. —(i) Law and order were maintained
satisfactorily throughout the year.
(ii) Several Government inspectors of different departments visited
Kerman.
(iii) Aqayi Arbab Kaikhosrou Shahrokh, M.P., for the Zoroastrian
community in Iran arrived at Kerman via Yezd on the 2nd June. The
object ol his visit to the above places was to persuade his community to
fall in with the views of the Government in discontinuing the almost obso
lete method of disposing of their dead in the Towers of Silence which was
considered non-hygienic.
10. //. /. AA. the Shah s Birthday. —The Acting Governor-General, on
behalf of-the Municipality gave a soiree on the 14th March in the Governo-
rate-General, in honour of the occasion. The invitation included, for the
first time, the ladies, and required gentlemen to attend in frock coats, as
a result ot which only 50 people of both sexes (including Europeans) at
tended. His Britannic Majesty's Consul did not attend the function on
account of court-mourning.
11. Local Officials and Departments. —His Excellency Aqayi Abul
Hassan Peernia, the Governor-General, was summoned to Tehran in Febru
ary and was suspended on arrival there, owing, it is said, to his slackness
in enforcing orders about discarding the veils. He handed over charge of
the Governorate-General to his assistant Aqayi Muhammad Mirza Arasteh.
His Excellency Aqayi Amanullah Ardelan, late Governor of Gulf
Ports, arrived on transfer from Bushire on 2nd June and assumed charge
as Governor-General of the Kerman province. He is more active than his
predecessor and many improvements in the town have been put into effect
since his appointment. His relations with the Consulate throughout the
year were most cordial and courteous.
Finance and Revenue. —Aqayi Muhammad Taqi Beenish remained in
charge as Provincial Director of Finance. The opium crop which was said
to be extraordinarily good, suffered slight damage just before the harvesting
season, nevertheless a quantity of about 700 Tabrizi maunds was delivered
at the Finance Department for bonderollmg purposes. A similar quantitv
is said to have been retained by the culitvators for smuggling purposes.
Towards the close of the year the price of bonderolled opium which was
Eials ] -25 per misqal of about 5 grammes was increased by 10 dinars in
January, and by another 10 dinars in October, thus bringing the retail price
to Kials 1-45 per misqal. The Finance Department notified the opium
cultivators during the year that the Government intended to curtail the
cultivation of opium in the province and to encourage the growing of cotton
in its place. The scheme is considered to be detrimental to the prosperity
of the province.