Due to road reconstruction, nearly 1,000 trees along the Darband-Elbayon highway and about 2,000 trees along the Manguzar-Denov route are being relocated. This has been authorized by the Surkhandarya Regional Department of Ecology. However, according to local residents, the process has already begun and greenery is being destroyed. Videos provided to Kun.uz also confirm this. Interestingly, the Ministry of Ecology had earlier expressed opposition to relocating the trees in this area.
Toxic emissions from a gas field—already a growing concern in the region — may no longer be the only problem for the people of Boysun. A new “assault” has apparently begun: this time on the trees.
Kun.uz received videos from Surkhandarya showing large numbers of trees being uprooted or cut down along a section of the 4R-105 “Darband-Boysun-Elbayon” highway. According to locals, some of the removed trees had been planted as part of the “Boysun Bahori” international folklore festival.
“They had made the whole road look like a garden for the ‘Boysun Bahori’ festival. Now, the trees in the middle are all gone. Just the other day, I saw it on my way to the gas station — more than 200 juniper trees in the center of the road had disappeared. They said a concrete road is being constructed there, part of the Boysun route. Maybe that’s why they were removed. They haven’t touched the trees on either side of the road yet — only the ones in the center,” said a local resident who reached out to Kun.uz.
Another local, who wished to remain anonymous, said that rumors of the possible felling of around 13,000 trees had been circulating in the area and that many people were concerned.
“Trees along the roadside had been marked with an ‘X’ — they've now been erased. Whether there was public pressure or something else, recently they went and removed the marks. Some trees have been cut down, while others were uprooted and distributed to cemeteries. The guards were reportedly assigned to take care of 10 to 15 of these transplanted trees. The junipers are just disappearing — they’re being cut down. The ecology office is located about 200 meters to 2 kilometers from the spot where these trees were cut,” he added.
Footage submitted by the citizen clearly shows dug-up areas where juniper trees once stood. In some cases, tree stumps remain, indicating the trees were cut. Another video shows a pine tree that has been uprooted and lies flat on the ground.
