Dr Dadkhah in the Conference on “Isfahan Cultural Heritage in Danger”
Why is the Cultural Heritage Organization keeping silent?

By Ashkan Khosrowpour, Amordad correspondent
TEHRAN (Amordadnews): The Isfahan Public Prosecuter told Dr Dadkhah that he should either have the ownership documents of the “Chahar Bagh” Avenue or should be the barrister of the Cultural Heritage Organization, otherwise neither he nor anyone else will be able to prevent metro from passing through “Chahar Bagh”. He added: “The only body that can file a complaint in this respect is the Cultural Heritage Organization, and no one else.”
Mohammad Ali Dadkhah, who is handling the Isfahan metro case, added to his above statement in the Conference on “Isfahan Cultural Heritage in Danger” and said: “After intensive follow-up, the inspector of the Branch No. 5 of the Public Prosecutor’s Office in Isfahan gave the orders to stop work on the metro.  But this action is taken when the metro tunnel has already gone through the north and south parts of “Chahar Bagh” and is very close to “Si-o-seh  Pol” (the bridge on Zayandeh River).  As a rule the distance  of digging should be more than 180m but it is less than 50m.”  According to Dadkhah, this little distance, with view to the geometrical situation of the bridge, will cause the walls of the bridge to fall down.  Dadkhah, who had previously also followed up the “Jahan nama” Tower case, pointed out to sections of the country’s constitution: “no legal body or governmental body can change a law and prevent its implementation.”  With view to the clear, written instructions of the Public Prosecutor of Branch No. 5 of Isfahan ,  digging the metro tunnel under Chahar Bagh was a clear breach of the laws.  He mentioned about the recommendations of the experts to dig the metro tunnel from under the roads parallel to Chahar Bagh and the negligence of the authorities towards these recommendations, and said: “Why should the metro pass from an area where there is danger of destruction?  Why should the experts’ recommendations to use the Shamsabad Avenue for the metro project be ignored? Only, because the expenses would be 6 billion tomans more?  Si-o-She Pol, Chahar Bagh Avenue and School, the Hasht Behesht Palace, Jahan Hotel,  and a number of very old trees of Chahar Batgh are among the historic effects that will be damaged by metro.”
Dr Mohammad Reza Espahbod, another lecturer of the Conference, spoke about the geological studies that were carried out previously for a safe metro project.  He said: “Because of the alluvium soil and the danger that this type of soil can have for the historic sites in Isfahan, in 1380 (2001) it was decided that the metro would pass under Shamsabad Avenue, where the soil is of better quality and there would not be any danger for the historic effects.  This recommendation was made as a result of expert and proficient study on the project, and was faultless, but unfortunately, it was not considered.”  He pointed to the viewpoint of the authorities who were against the above recommendations and said: “They tell us that we are illiterate.  Doesn’t the metro in Paris pass through Chanps Elysee  and Louvre museum? Why don’t the French people protest to the metro authorities? I proposed to those who are of this opinion, to pass a night in one of the old buildings of Chanps Elysee and see if they can bear the trembles of metro.  They have forgotten that in those days there were severe disputes on the metro project in France.”
According to Espahbod, guarding important avenues and keeping them away from underground and surface traffic is a behavior that all countries have for their national wealth, a behavior that is forgotten over here.

Translation by Rowshan Lohrasbpour