The Armenian authorities have once again failed to keep their word and failed to meet the deadline for the construction of a new neighborhood in the Syunik village of Shurnukh, Sputnik Armenia reports.

Two years ago, the government promised as soon as possible to build 13 new houses for the residents of the eastern part of the village, which (along with all the property) came under Azerbaijani control in January 2021.

"The construction was originally planned to be finished in the summer of 2021. Later, Armen Gularyan, chairman of Armenia's Urban Development Committee, said at a government meeting that the deadline had been pushed back to the end of 2021. But even by that time, the residents of the village were disappointed.

In November 2021, again at the meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers, Gularyan said that the houses would be ready in the first half of 2022. But even by that date, the block was not built.

In August 2022, when asked by Sputnik Armenia, the Committee said that the completion date was postponed to the fourth quarter of 2022.

On November 1, 2022, Gularyan said during a budget debate in parliament:

"By the end of the year (construction, ed.) we will completely finish 13 houses. We only worry that the landscaping work, to some extent, may be postponed until next year. Nevertheless, we will solve the problem of houses this year".

A few days ago our camera crew visited the village and saw once again that the construction of the block is far from being completed. Thus, two houses are still at the foundation stage.

The future owners still have to seek shelter either with relatives in Goris, or in the empty houses and cottages in the village. The headman lives in the administration building.

Problems with drinking water

Immediately after the construction of the new block the issue of providing houses with drinking water will have to be solved. The problem with this in the village is very acute.

Before the division of the village, houses in Shurnukh used to get water from three sources. One of them was under the control of Azerbaijan. The second source of water has practically dried up. Only two houses get water from this spring. Only one water source is left, but its volume is not enough for the whole village. The water collection basin is almost always empty because all the water flowing into it is immediately consumed.

"The water string is so thin that it froze last night. If we complete 13 new houses, there won't be enough water for them," says Hakob Arshakyan, head of the village.

And this same water is used for the irrigation of household plots. There are simply no other resources. According to Arshakyan, during his visit to the village, Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure Gnel Sanosyan suggested the villagers to find a new source of water supply, promising that the authorities will build the necessary infrastructure irrespective of the distance.

Power outages

Until recently, the village also lacked electricity. Recently a transformer was replaced, but in winter a new problem appeared.

"Electricity comes through the forest from the village of Bartsravan. When snow falls, tree branches under its weight lie on the wires. A couple of weeks ago, three poles with wires fell down," Arshakyan said.

The poles have been fixed, but the problem hasn't been solved globally. Either the area should be cleaned from branches or the power lines should be laid bypassing the wooded area. To do so, part of the wires (4 km long) must be laid parallel to the new Tandzaver-Shurnukh road.

The authorities have promised to do this as well.

No permanent transportation

Among other problems is transportation. Every day a passenger "Ural" truck comes to Shurnukh which brings teachers here (as well as to Bartsravan and Vorotan villages). Most of them are all from Goris.

On Monday and Friday after the morning pickup, it takes people from the three villages to Goris and brings them back.

"But it's not stable either. Sometimes the car comes once a week," the headman said.

After Azerbaijan closed the Goris-Kapan road, the route from Shurnukh to Goris through Bartsravan village increased significantly. The road used to be about 28km long. Now it is 64km through Bartsravan and 48km through Khot village (the road is bad).

Sputnik Armenia sent an inquiry to the Town Planning Committee asking for a new timeline for completing the construction of the Shurnukh quarter," the news website writes.