Saturday, January 22

Baku, sweet home

I have written before about Baku, its history, its construction boom and how little attention and care is given to protect the old Baku from getting completely destructed for projects like winter boulevard or road expansion. 

Below, I would like to share two videos- one is how one of the most central residential parts of Baku got destroyed for Winter Boulevard project, including how strategically local administrative authorities were kicking out old residents from their homes. 

The second video, is about road expansion project- one of the new things thats IN across the country. But this road expansion is taking land from residents along the road who are obviously are not happy about it. Nor they are happy with the compensation- money offered doesn't really cover the loss of property let alone trees and all the plants and etc. 

I am just curious, why on earth do we need Winter Boulevard, as if its the only thing we need in Azerbaijan? We have great lives, people have good salaries, impeccable infrastructure and Winter Boulevard is the last we need?! 

As to road expansion, if that road is going to break down in few months like other new roads built in and across the country then wont it be better to let those people keep they land and let more trees live? Or is it an absolute absolute must to have 8 lanes roads (or less) or simply have that specific area with less lanes?

There is this famous song about Baku in Azeri ('Jan Baku') that goes along these lines: "Dear Baku, dear home, we all live as one family ..." It looks like less and less people will be singing this song as there will be no dear homes and one families living together in dear Baku...


2 comments:

Ł. said...

This is absolutely unhuman! This is not the way a (at least theoratically) free and fair European country operates. I am shocked to my core. What's more - this doesn't look like development done for the benefit of people, but rather like arbitrary caprices of closed-minded people who got their behinds in the seat of power and want to... I don't know... leave something behind? Create landmarks that nobody besides them will appreciate?

This kind of looks like creating something for the news so as to shift the focus from the actual problems that persist. My deepest sympathies.

Arzu Geybulla said...

Hey,

yea, tell me about it. very unnecessary and frustrating. esp they way people are treated let alone history of the city itself. ah, its not the first. thanks for the comment, appreciate