By Diana Ghazaryan

Residents along Yerevan’s Lepsius Street are in an uproar.

They will have to abandon ‘community gardens’ they been cultivating for over thirty years to make way for a government plan to build a 10,000 square meter park complete with a swimming pool, fountain, football field and commercial shops.

One wall will separate the new park from the Zeytoun Cemetery.

There are no public information signs regarding the upcoming construction.

While the land in question doesn’t legally belong to residents, they argue that by cultivating it they have saved it from becoming an eyesore. Residents say they were informed just a few days ago about the construction work. The gardeners, many of who are retirees, argue that their gardens are a welcome respite where they can relax with friends and family members

Roza Grigoryan has been gardening at the site since 1992. Not being able to find work after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Mrs. Grigoryan and her neighbors cleaned the site of trash, fenced the area, and planted trees. She’s raised grandchildren on the green space. Her plot of land has been nicknamed ‘paradise’ by neighbors. A stove has also been installed on the site. She uses pruned tree branches to have barbeques during the summer. Mrs. Grigoryan isn’t satisfied with the explanations she’s received from the Kanaker-Zeytoun neighborhood council or the Human Rights Defender’s Office, saying that it’s all a confused mess. Her apartment property deed specifies the amount of livable space she owns and information about the adjacent piece of land.

“If they manage to destroy my land, I’ll throw myself under a bulldozer. I won’t let them get an inch closer. I’m a retiree on a pension, all alone, and I spend my days here. If you touch that blossoming garden of mine you’ll have to dump me in the truck along with the dirt,” Mrs. Grigoryan said.

When I visited the garden, Sveta Mkrtchyan was digging up trees she planted twenty years ago. She was giving them to a friend.

“We’ve invested time and sweat here. See, my trees have blossomed. They told us to get rid of them. We’ve been digging them up for the past few days. It’s a terrible sight. They come and destroy what you have cultivated. There’s free space next to the school. Let them build their playground there.” Said Mrs. Mkrtchyan.

Lyova Hayryan, director of the LEV Ltd., the company doing the construction, said the work will be implemented in two stages – one site this year and the other, next year. Hayryan says the land of residents with property deeds will not be touched. When I told Hayryan that residents had been ordered to uproot their trees, he replied that if the trees do not obstruct the construction of the football field they will remain where they are.

When one of the residents started to complain, standing on the site of the new park next to the cemetery, Hayryan became noticeably irritated.

“I don’t like it when residents start such arguments about good work that’s being done. Several trucks have already carted off tin tiles and the skeletons of cars. This is government land,” he growled.

We should note that the 300-meterexpanse, planned for by law, separating the building at 41 Lepsius Street and the Zeytoun Cemetery hasn’t been maintained.

Diana Ghazaryan is a fourth year journalism student at Yerevan State University