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Damascus Governorate Announces New Location for Used Book Stalls
The "Damascus Governorate" revealed the alternative location for stalls selling used books, which it removed last month from under the "Presidential Bridge" in the Baramkeh neighborhood in the center of the capital.
Bashar Al-Ashqar, the "Director of Properties" in the Damascus Governorate, claimed that the governorate identified a location behind the building of the Syrian regime's news agency (SANA), also located in Baramkeh, which is less than 200 meters from the "Presidential Bridge," to serve as an "alternative market" for selling books, according to the pro-regime newspaper "Al-Watan."
Al-Ashqar explained that "sales units will be established, which are kiosks that have been decided upon in the area, reaching a total of 25 establishments with an approved model," he said.
In mid-October, the "governorate" removed the famous book stalls from under the "Presidential Bridge" in Damascus using trucks and bulldozers, causing damage in a manner described as "savage."
Sources told Syria TV on Thursday that the "Damascus Governorate" vehicles surprised the stalls and granted them only a few hours to evacuate. The stall owners attempted to request an extension until the following day at least, to allow them to move their belongings, but their requests were met with refusal, leading to altercations between them and the governorate's employees.
Two days later, "Damascus City Governor" Muhammad Tareq Kourshati announced that the removed used book stalls would be relocated to another designated area in the capital.
Kourshati claimed in statements to the pro-regime radio station "Sham FM" that the governorate "will communicate with the owners of these stalls, and they will be moved to organized places in one of the vacant areas of Damascus, which will be allocated for selling used books," without specifying the locations or the timing of the move.
He added that "the purpose of the removal of the stalls is purely organizational, and the sidewalks are designated for citizens," as he put it.
