7Berkeh: 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.”
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
Gerash
۱۷ شهریور ۱۳۹۶
Since water shortage simultaneously occurs with demolishing illegal walls around gardens, the managers must use this opportunity to introduce draught problems to public.