Sarab Garden in Shahrud in danger of destruction
The people of Semnan Province remember Sarab Garden (Bagh-e Sarab), located in Ruyan, a town in the central district of Shahrud. Dating back to the Qajar era, the garden was once full of apples, cherries, apricots, and plane trees.
Registered on Iran’s National Heritage List, the garden had a mesmerizing view in the past. However, it has been gradually dried up, and an amazing mansion in its center has been abandoned.
Among the locals, the mansion is known as the House of Amir Azam, a famous governor of Qumis, which was an old city in Semnan.
Unfortunately, a plane tree in the garden that was hundreds of years old, was partially destroyed recently by workers of a company, under the pretext of supplying water to Ruyan.
An old qanat, originating from Shahrud River, passes through the garden, transferring water to Ruyan, which is home to numerous agricultural and horticultural farms.
Due to wear and tear, the water channel has been blocked gradually; as a result, it takes longer now for the water to reach the garden. In order to solve the problem, the company, which is in charge of supplying water to Ruyan, received the required permissions from related authorities to lay a water pipe along the channel.
However, measures undertaken by its workers caused massive damage to the garden, owned by the Mostazafan Foundation. Fortunately, the owner intervened in the case and prevented further destruction of the garden.
According to the director general of Semnan Province’s Mostazafan Foundation, Mojtaba Rajabi, the company made no coordination with the foundation and started digging without any permission.
He added that cultural heritage experts have admitted that some damage has been done to the garden.
“We have agreed with the experts’ proposal on the return of the tree to its original place, where its roots are located,” he added.
He expressed hope that the measure would help protect the tree from further damage.