CAIRO - Encroachments on arable land in the Nile Valley and the Delta since the eruption of the January 25 revolution have exceeded 100,000, according to a recent report. The Central Administration for Protecting Arable Lands said that 108,316 encroachments had occurred by the end of March. Only 2,630 infringements have been removed by the military. Egypt has seen lax security since late January when police withdrew from the streets, and, in the blink of an eye, the country was gripped by a crime wave, with aggressions on cultivated land being the most serious problem. Thousands of people have found the unrest an excellent opportunity to add more storeys to existing buildings, or to seize land and build new ones. In the coastal city of Alexandria, where hundreds of such infringements on arable land were reported, 45 violators have been prosecuted by courts martial. However, the violations persist. It was reported that a huge number of the wonderful old villas in various areas of Alexandria have been pulled down, with work starting on high rises in their place, due to the absence of municipal officials. In addition, more storeys have been added to dozens of buildings, with no official permission, endangering people's lives. Dozens of thugs have seized land and started building homes there. In one area, Bianki Beach, el-Agami, west of Alexandria, 20 villas have been demolished, and work is underway to build tower blocks, although the law prohibits the demolition of old villas and palaces. An urgent report has been submitted to the head of the Northern Military Zone, asking him to do something to stop the ‘massacre' of villas. According to the opposition Al-Wafd Arabic-language daily, more than 100,000 building violations have been committed in Egypt's second biggest city. One striking example was that of a house across the road from the Agami municipal HQ, which was pulled down by a contractor who immediately started building a block of flats there. In another example, a 14-storey block of flats was constructed, although the builder only had licences for 11 floors. Moreover, there have been encroachments on various archaeological sites, according to senior officials, who say that municipal officials have been standing by helplessly, watching the violations. The head of the Central Department for the Alexandria and Lower Egypt, Mohamed Abdel-Maqsoud, says that archaeological sites west of the city, especially in Borg el-Arab and Mariya, have, since January, been the target of encroachments from people living in the neighbouring areas. Both areas include 21 archaeological sites, where buildings have suddenly appeared, he says, adding that Mariya is home to about 1,000 feddans owned by the Ministry of Antiquities. Abdel-Maqsoud notes that Minister of State for Antiquities Zahi Hawass has asked the Central Department to prepare a ‘blacklist' of violators and the date of their crimes, to be later used in courts. A member of West Alexandria Local Council says that various areas have been transformed into slums. A senior council official describes the demolition of villas and their replacement by ‘towers' as a ‘disaster'. The head of the Disaster Committee at the Alexandria Municipal Council, Salah Eissa, blames greedy contractors for the problem, adding that they have repeatedly warned of the dangers of rapidly constructed tower blocks. Similar violations have been reported in many parts of the nation, glaringly taking advantage of lack of security and loosening power of the State authorities.
