Open Letter to the Mayor of Yerevan

Dear Mr. Haik Marutyan,

We, the residents of the Shengavit administrative district of Yerevan—Kotovsky, Musaelyan, Patkanian, Madoyan, Odessa, Dodokhyan, and Hrazdan streets—are addressing you. This area is more widely known to the public as the residential neighborhood called “Ghreriphos.” For years, the issue has not been resolved; there are no sewage pipelines, and an entire system is absent. To illustrate the problem more vividly, we can say that the disgraceful situation concerning sewage is prevailing. We have approached the relevant authorities during previous administrations, but the issue remains unsolved.

The problem is that instead of flowing through pipes, the sewage overflows from the yards of the houses and fills the streams. If we are lucky and there is water, it will flow towards Lake Yerevan through the creek; otherwise, what ensues is a true, so to speak, “theater” of horrors. The sewage not only spreads foul odors, creating an unsanitary condition for the residents but is also dangerous for children playing in the yard, who may inadvertently come into contact with the sewage.

We invite the attention of the city hall regarding this urgent issue.

It should also be noted that this problem has a long history, yet the city hall has not even been aware of the situation. When we approached the city hall, we were told that we need to submit a written request for it to be included in the planned works.

Mr. Marutyan, we understand that there are many issues facing our capital; however, our problem has not been resolved for quite some time, and we kindly request that you personally come and become familiar with the issue, as only through special attention can we begin to move the situation forward.