Some residents of Bamiyan province on Saturday urged the Islamic Emirate to prevent “illegal and unplanned” constructions near ancient sites in the province.
“We are seeing illegal constructions in green and ancient regions,” said Abdul Wali, a resident of Bamiyan.
“Some people are building houses in regions where construction was previously banned,” said Shir Agha, another resident of Bamiyan.
Meanwhile, some archaeologists said that these constructions will damage the historical importance of ancient sites.
“It will have negative impacts on historical sites if illegal constructions are not stopped,” said archaeologist Fazel Akbari.
“Constructions are underway in UNESCO’s ‘red zones’ and no one from the side of the ruling group is stopping it,” said Laeeq Ahmadi, another archaeologist.
But Bamiyan officials said they have taken measures to stop illegal construction activities in historical sites.
“We will not let anybody to construct in the corners of Bamiyan and in historical places,” said Saif Rahman Mohammadi, director of the information and culture in Bamiyan.
This comes as officials in Bamiyan recently said that more domestic and foreign tourists are visiting historic sites in the province this year.
