Egypt acts to rescue its farmland from urban sprawl

The government is confronting the loss of farmland by demolishing homes and buildings constructed without permits.
Hany Mousa, 38, collects mandarins at a farm on December 27, 2016 in the Egyptian village of Abu Ghalib, in Cairo's northern Giza province. / AFP / MOHAMED EL-SHAHED (Photo credit should read MOHAMED EL-SHAHED/AFP via Getty Images)
Hany Mousa, 38, collects mandarin oranges at a farm on Dec. 27, 2016, in the Egyptian village of Abu Ghalib, in Cairo's northern Giza province. - MOHAMED EL-SHAHED/AFP via Getty Images
AmrEmam.jpg
Amr Emam
@dreamyworld33

CAIRO — Egyptian authorities are moving ahead with a big crackdown on homes and other buildings constructed illegally on farmland nationwide.

Municipal authorities have demolished thousands of structures built on agricultural land without permits and in violation of Egypt's agriculture laws.

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