Water in the Voskepar River in the region of Tavush has decreased so much in the past few days that dead fish and frogs have appeared in the course of the river, there is a bad smell on
the banks. The water level increased to some extent as a result of the rain the day before, May 4. Little water was released from the reservoir feeding the small hydroelectric power plant operated by H. A. G. Troika LLC that uses the water of the Voskepar River on that day, as a result of which the river level increased again. Hamo Grigoryan, a resident of Voskepar, irrigating his garden near the river, said that the river might run dry in the summer. Hrush Aghbalyan, the village headman of Voskepar, communicated that he had informed the representatives of the construction firm that had constructed the waterline irrigating the bordering villages of Voskepar, Kot, Baghanis, Voskevan upstream and Debed-Aghstev Jrar Closed Corporation. According to Hrush Aghbalyan, the representatives of the construction firm haven’t officially put the waterline into service. In the village headman’s words, the officials of that firm and Debed-Aghstev Jrar Closed Corporation told him that there were a few water-releasing valves, after the exploitation of which, minimum flow of water in the Voskepar River would be ensured. Let us remind that on August 31, 2011, President Serzh Sargsyan participated in the opening ceremony of the waterline irrigating the land in the mentioned 4 villages. $5.4 million credit taken from International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) was spent by the state institution The Office for Implementing Development Projects in Rural Areas on the construction of the waterline. It should irrigate 1100 ha territory in those 4 villages, however, due to absence of internal irrigation network or its partial operation even half of it is not irrigated. In September 2011, this problem was discussed in the regional administration of Tavush with participation of Armen Gevorgyan, the Minister of Territorial Administration and the Vice Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia. In April 2012, during a meeting in Koti, residents of Koti complained to Minister of Defense Seyran Ohanyan that the water brought to Koti by that waterline flew to Azerbaijan due to absence of internal network. During the summer heat, when water in the Voskepar River will decrease substantially, demand for irrigation water will increase and an environmental disaster will threaten the Voskepar River.
VOSKAN SARGSYAN
