EcoLur
Because of absence of any water all the crops and trees have dried out in Nerqin Getashen community, Gegharkounik Region, Armenia. During their trip to the community, the residents complained to EcoLur that July is about to be over, but they haven't watered their orchards yet.
Nerqin Getashen Residents: 'We have watered a small part with drinking water, no potatoes are left, all of them have died out...', 'I have a land area of 7000 meters, which is cultivated with potatoes, beans and cabages, but so far I haven't been able to water them...', 'All night I have stayed awake, watered 3 threes: this year my trees haven't seen any water.'
The irrigation water here is the Argitchi River: water supply is carried out by 'Martuni' WUC through pumps, as well as through the water lines constructed by the villagers with a gravity method. Because of lack of water in the Argitchi River, the villagers can't have gravity water in their orchards. According to the villagers, the water intake section is located a bit above the SHPP station constructed on the Argitchi River, where the river is piped, and the water remaining is the river is little.
Nerqin Getashen Residents: The SHPP water flows into the Ishkhanatak, while our pipe is 1 km upwards...'.
The Argitchi River used to have so much water that people didn't feel any shortge, but as soon as the SHPP has been constructed, people are killing each other for water...
'We want out ancestors' water, river water, which flows into the village through the pipe...', 'There is currently no water in our neighborhood, there is also no water in upward neighborhoods, on the 1st of July I have met the water distributor to take my water, nevertheless, so far I haven't been given any water, the potatoes have dried out: what does the government think about? They think only about their elections and about themselves...', ' It's drought, everything has dried out.'
Nerqin Getashen Community Deputy Head Hakob Vardanyan said that water problems have become more acute over the recent years. ''Both the village municipality and the state wells have been damaged in several places: several pumping stations have been constructed, but they are not enough. In recent years problems have arised with the SHPP constructed on the Argitchi River, but now they have reached mutual agreement, the problem seems to be regulated, but again there are problems with water,' Hakob Vardanyan said. He mentioned there are also problems with water losses. The water aqueducts served by 'Martuni' WUC have worn out and the villagers get only a small part of water for their land areas.
Watch more details in the video.
July 21, 2017 at 15:45