Aggression and occupation of the coast again

Baku/26.05.23 /Turan: On the night of May 24-25, electric welding sparkled on the public beach "Zagulba", near the village of Buzovna, jackhammers punched holes in the rocks, into which workers poured concrete and inserted metal pipes. The workers could not answer the question of a local resident, what is happening and why illegal actions are committed at night. A video recording of the night dialogue between workers and local residents is posted on the social network.

The work is being conducted on the beach to the right of the “Mirvari” restaurant, which is clearly visible from the windows of the residence of the President of Azerbaijan. In the summer of 2022, the public of the village of Buzovna, publishing in the media and social networks, speaking on TV, and addressing the president of the country, achieved the dismantling by the forces of the Khazar  district, independent fences stretching from the rocks to the sea. But then these works were not completed by the executive power of the district, the rocks were not cleared of ugly structures. Residents of the village of Buzovna appealed to various departments with a request to declare the rock massif a protected zone. But the initiative of the citizens remained unanswered. The beach season of 2023 is coming soon, and now, new fences have appeared on the coast, in another place," local activist Seyfulla Azer shared with Turan.

An area of about 1 hectare is fenced, a gate with a large inscription “Dalga Buzovna” is installed at the entrance. Since last year, soil, furniture has been imported, other works have been conducted, and fences from sea water to rocks have been installed now, in a hurry to build a closed paid beach before the summer season, another activist Elbek Alizade told Turan.

Seyfulla Azer and Elbek Alizade organized several public clean-up days last year to clean the Buzovna coast from household and construction debris. They shared photos, talked about the joy of liberation from invaders of rock massifs unique in beauty, which have changed to fabulous forms over millennia by the power of water and wind. Muslim Magomayev's famous Soviet song clip "The Blue Sea" was filmed on these rocks, footage of feature films,  this is a place where the lovers used to meet. But then, in recent years, due to the anarchy in the Khazar district, the coast, starting from the rocks to the water's edge, was seized by the owners of suburban areas. Last year, the society managed to enforce the decrees of President Ilham Aliyev from 2015 and 2016 on the freedom of use of the 20-50-meter-wide coastal strip. The liberation of the coast took place only on Buzovna beach. And in some places, where the rocks were simply cut down, interfering with the owners of restaurants, it became impossible to restore the former natural landscape. But the law-abiding local authorities did not last long. Exactly a year, and again fences...

The Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan was surprised by our message about the seizure of the coastal strip. At first, they said that they were not dealing with territorial issues, but when we explained that  the talk was about the violation of the natural landscape and the safety of flora and fauna in the rock massif, the Ministry announced its intention to send inspectors there.

The Khazar executive authority Turan said that in the village of Buzovna, the village representative office is in charge of all issues. The head of the representative office of the Executive Power of the district in Buzovna, Emin Aliyev, initially picked up the phone, but when he heard our question about night work, he said that he was at a meeting. Then, during the day, E. Aliyev did not answer calls from Turan. Probably, he determined by the phone number that journalists were calling, who would ask on what basis fences were being erected on the territory under his jurisdiction, and how this construction correlated with presidential decrees.

We sent E.Aliyev an audio message with an urgent request to explain what is happening on the shore. Why is the construction being  conducted  at night, on what legal basis, will the opportunity for vacationers to go to the sea be closed?

Companies cannot purchase a beach area because according to the fifth paragraph of the Law "On Land Lease", the coastal zone of the Caspian Sea, including areas intended for treatment and recreation of the population, are considered state-owned. It can be assumed that part of the seashore in the village of Buzovna is rented by the “Dalga Beach” company from a local  executive power; this name is on the gate of the fenced territory. Turan tried to contact the “Dalga Beach” company, but the phones listed on the company's website do not answer.

According to S. Azer, a paid beach is being hastily built on the shore. He does not mind that a businessman earns money by offering people a vacation on a well-maintained shore, buying services and amenities. "But it is unacceptable to violate the decree of the President of the country and close citizens' access to the sea, erect fences and damage rocks for the sake of seasonal benefits," he said.

Turan Agency expects effective actions from the Ministry of Ecology and the Ministry of Agriculture of the Khazar district  to monitor construction work and protect the rights of the population to free rest in the Buzovna coast zone.