EcoLur
“I have never seen such a thing in my life: all the living has died,” said an Arzni villager in the interview with EcoLur who eye witnessed the mass elimination of the fish in the Hrazdan River. EcoLur received an s.o.s. signal on 23 January. When we reached the scene, Arzni Gorge, we saw the river bottom full of dead fish, crabs and frogs. It was already the third day the Sevan gulls have been feeding with the fish having risen to the surface.
On the scene we caught the Territorial State Environmental Inspection of the Ministry of Nature Protection of RA. Under the inspector, the initial checkup showed that approximately 500 m of the river zone was affected. «I hope that this really has a local nature”, - said the inspector.
The locals are extremely worried. “Probably this is a poisoning. Already there are some rumors that chlorine has been filled in the river, but it doesn’t look like a chlorine, as we are here the whole day and observe the situation. If it were chlorine, we would feel its smell. Over 1000 people visit our places in the high season. Our children swim in this river. We have no information. What will happen, if it suddenly turns out to be a great danger?”
By EcoLur’s request, the Deputy Head of the State Environmental Inspection Karen Papoyan advised that at present the Ministry of Nature Protection of RA is conducting the analysis of the water samples taken from the Hrazdan River and the dead fish. “We will inform the public about the analysis results through the mass media,” Papoyan said. Under him, the results will show what the scales of the accident are and what other departments should be involved in this process.
See EcoLur’s photo report.
January 25, 2010