After long debates, residents of an apartment building subject to demolition and the real estate development company, Shahri Zeboi Man, have reportedly reached settlement on the compensation issues.

According to the Independent Center for Protection of Human Rights, residents of the apartment building housing the Book World Store, which is located at the intersection of Ayni and Lohouti streets, and Shari Zeoi Man LTD have reached certain agreements under support of the administration of Dushanbe’s Shohmansour district.  

The company and residents of the mentioned apartment building have reportedly agreed to fulfill conditions of the reached agreement on vacating the apartments within two weeks and providing compensations or apartments to the residents in new apartment building. 

Recall, some residents of the mentioned apartment building did not agree with conditions offered by the Shahri Zeboi Man Company, and therefore, they applied to the Dushanbe prosecutor’ office.  

According to them, the company offers them US$600 per one square meter, while they want US$1,500 per one square meter.  

This apartment building was constructed in the mid-1950s.

The ambitious municipal redevelopment plan includes the construction of modern buildings and the demolition plan has sparked a series of demonstrations by local residents whose homes have been targeted for demolition in preparation for the planned construction.  

Meanwhile, demolition of historical buildings in Dushanbe began several years ago and the first was the building of the Main Post Office.

Plans to demolish some of the most popular landmarks in Dushanbe have sparked outrage.  In a desperate bid to halt the destruction, hundreds of city residents in October 2015 signed an online petition addressed to president and Dushanbe mayor.  The petition drew more than 600 signatures in the first day alone.

Reacting to a wave of Internet grumbling, Nourali Saidzoda, the first deputy head of the Committee for Construction and Architecture under the Government of Tajikistan, told Asia-Plus that time that the buildings selected for demolition were of negligible value and needed replacing with modern hi-tech substitutes.

The authorities then demolished the Mayakovsky Russian Drama Theater and Jomi Movie Theater.  Recall, the founding of the Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic was declared at the Mayakovsky Theater in 1929.