A live shield appeared yesterday, July 19, on the Yerevan-Sevan highway, when the residents of the Gegharkunik province blocked the road to express their protest against the construction of a hydropower plant on the Gayladzor stream of the Argitchi River.
Since the morning about 500 residents from six villages blocked the Yerevan-Martouni section of the Sevan highway for about five hours paralyzing traffic for more than 1,000 cars. Later on, Gegharkunik marzpetaran (local administration body) employees arrived, and asked for ten days to settle the issue.
“Residents turned to all competent government bodies, and they had nothing else left to do in this respect. They are ready to repeat the same step in ten days unless something is changed for the better,” Lianna Asoyan, coordinator of the Aarhus Center in Armenia’s Gegharkunik province, told ArmeniaNow.
The river Argitchi is the biggest among 28 rivers flowing into Lake Sevan. It secures 12 centimeters for the rise of the lake level annually. The river provides irrigation water for more than 30,000 residents of six villages in Gegharkounik province. If the project of changing the course of the Gayladzor stream flowing to the river Argitchi is implemented, about 40 percent of Argirchi water will be directed to Vayots Dzor province, which is in the opposite side of Lake Sevan.
Asoyan says that Zangezour Eximp LLC is illegally conducting the construction of a small hydropower plant on the Argitchi River though the permit issued to this company says it is entitled to carry out construction only on the tributary of the Eghegis River in Kapuyt Berd, while construction works on the river Argitchi are illegal.
Environmentalists are sure that by means of changing the course of the river, the level of Lake Sevan – the largest sweet water basin in Armenia – will be dropped. The rise of Lake Sevan’s level influenced the lucrative businesses founded along the lakeshore during recent years. Besides, the abrupt rise of Lake Sevan’s level is considered to be one of the most important environmental issues for Armenia, where Lake Sevan is the main element of the whole ecosystem.
The RA Law on Lake Sevan, which prohibits the use of the lake’s basin water for other purposes, be it a hydro-power plant, irrigation or some other purpose, is being violated because of the construction of the hydropower plant. Besides, it is also dangerous for fish, especially trout, since they spawn at the source of the river Argitchi.