EcoLur
The residents of Getashen neighborhood in Hayanist Community, Ararat Region, around 171 household have been experiencing serious problems with drinking water for over 30 years. In this hot summer season, Getashen residents have been left not only without irrigation water, but also without drinking water.
There are currently 4 fish farms operating in Hayanist community – the fish farms make use of the Ararat artesian basin as a source of water. “Do you know how many fish farms there are? Isn’t this entire village worth as much as the fish?” the residents complained.
Currently, irrigation water is supplied from two artesian wells with the duration of two hours in one day, but the villagers don’t manage to collect enough water within these two hours. According to Community Head Balabek Sarkissian, such a regime of irrigation water supply is conditioned with the aim of not causing any harm to the pumps installed on the wells. “Every time when pumps are switched on or off, the pumps are undermined,” the village head explained.
Getashen residents noted that they couldn’t make any harvest because of the lack of irrigation water and have incurred damage in around 80%.
It should be mentioned, in 2012 a 2.8-kilometer-long aqueduct with three faucets was constructed for Getashen neighborhood with the support of 'Save the Children' organization, via which water is brought from Voskehat reservoir in Armavir Region for the neighborhood. The faucets broke down after several years, as a result of which Hayanist Community Municipality reached an arrangement with 'Hayjrmughkoyughi' CJSC to stop the contract on the water supply in Getashen neighborhood with a condition of constructing an internal network there. In 2018, an internal network was constructed in Getashen neighborhood with the support of the Armenian Government costing 10.5 million AMD. Nevertheless, 'Veolia Jur' CJSC refused to serve the internal water network constructed in the neighborhood.
This publication has been prepared within the frames of “Protect Your Right to Water” project with the support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), whereas the opinions expressed or the content of the publications don’t necessarily represent the official views and opinions of USAID.
July 30, 2019 at 19:39