Dear deputy Prime Minister, have you come to deceive us? The villagers, who on Wednesday assembled on Armenia’s Yerevan-Aparan Highway, stated the aforementioned in response to Deputy PM, Territorial Administration Minister Armen Gevorgyan’s explanations on the construction of a hydroelectric power plant (HPP) in Karbi Valley.
The residents of seven Aragatsotn Region villages are for a long time protesting against the construction of an HPP near Ohanavan and Karbi villages.
“A [respective] commission is set up. They will present the results of their work in several days, and I personally will come and inform you about the final decision. No [construction] work will be done until the final decision.
“If the HPP is built and the water resources are sufficient, it will operate; if not, no,” Gevorgyan stated.
The local residents, however, demanded from the deputy PM to announce that the HPP will not be constructed. They also noted that they do not believe in the veracity of the results of the studies of the abovementioned commission.
Armen Gevorgyan and the villagers agreed to meet again on Friday, when the deputy PM will inform the local residents about the government’s final decision on this matter.
The crowd is slowly dispersing, the Armenian News-NEWS.am reporter informed.
Before leaving, however, the villagers warned the deputy PM that if on Friday they are not clearly notified that the HPP will not be built, the residents of the seven villages will go to capital city Yerevan, and participate in Saturday’s rally of the “I am against” civic initiative which opposes the new pension law in Armenia.
The residents of Ushi, Ohanavan, Artashavan, Karbi, Saghmosavan, Yerznka, and Yeghvard villages are fighting against the construction of the aforementioned HPP. They fear that if the HPP is built, they will be deprived of irrigation water for their gardens because, in their view, the hydroelectric power plant will use so much water from the Aparan Reservoir that their gardens, which are their only source of income, will dry out.
