Illegal Garden-Walls Demolished

۷Berkeh: Private gardens around the city have been the topic of furious debates in the past few years. People say these gardens are places for recreation in a city with few such places; somewhere to spend free-time with family and friends. But according to The Management of Agriculture-Jahad of Gerash, the law says enclosing and altering the usability of agricultural land with walls is forbidden. Building walls around these lands is a legal offense, and Agriculture-Jahad is allowed to demolish the walls.

And that is what has been happening in the last few months in Gerash: last winter, on March 12, 22 garden walls were demolished by The Management of Agriculture-Jahad. This summer, on August 9 and 10, more than 130 walls were brought down. And this is not the end: more than 300 cases are waiting for court judgement.

The demolition did cause a series of reactions from people, which was limited to angry protestations in social networks and a calm gathering in front of the Governor’s Office of Gerash. But these protests do not add up to anything serious. The Management of Agriculture-Jahad says that the land-owners have been notified repeatedly, and the demolition is absolutely legal. “This is a country-wide policy”, Says Jokar, the manager of Agriculture-Jahad of Gerash, “and is being carried out in every other city in the Fars province.”

But is there any way for compromise? Jokar answers: “We have to demolish the walls that are built illegally. But land-owners can request for a usability alteration case, and if the law allows it, they can use the land to build their gardens.”

خبر به زبان فارسی

Some words and expressions in this news story:

Recreation: تفریح

The Management of Agriculture-Jahad of Gerash: مدیریت جهاد کشاورزی گراش

altering the usability: تغییر کاربری

to demolish: تخریب کردن

court judgement: حکم دادگاه

protestations: اعتراضات

Governor’s Office: فرمانداری

land-owners: مالکین زمین