VIDEO: Bad Odor and Large Pile of Trash Accumulated in Central Yerevan - What is the Cause?

A few days ago, our editorial team received alerts from citizens who reported that a semi-demolished area at 16 Ekmalyan Street (in the area of Arami, Pushkin, and Parpetsi streets) has turned into a large landfill over the months.

In a conversation with Auroranews, one of the citizens stated that the situation is worsening every day, saying, "The entire area is filled with trash, and this is in the center of Yerevan. It smells bad and is very unpleasant. There are residential buildings at the back of the area, and apparently, it is the residents of those buildings who are throwing trash."

The respondent mentioned that months ago, they contacted the Yerevan municipality to address the issue and seek urgent resolution. However, they received a response stating that the alert had been acknowledged and urgent action would be taken; yet, no measures have been implemented to date. "It is indeed very ugly and unpleasant to see such a place in the center of Yerevan," the citizen added.

Auroranews reached out to the Yerevan municipality to understand why the area has not been cleaned and the issue has not been resolved. In response to our written inquiry, they stated that the area located at 16 Ekmalyan Street is privately owned. The Yerevan municipality has no authority to clean and carry out sanitary work in a section that has an owner.

The point is that the owner of the area applied to the Yerevan municipality years ago to start construction on that section, but due to certain issues and non-compliance with standards, the municipality did not grant the owner permission for construction. Consequently, the property owner has not performed cleaning and maintenance work, leading to the area becoming polluted and smelly.

At first glance, it seems that the owner is sending a protest note to the municipality for not granting permission for construction by not cleaning the area, but in reality, the issue is more profound.

The Yerevan municipality indicates that they have contacted the owner's representative, presented the issue, and the legal consequences (administrative liability) that may arise from not resolving it. "Since legal processes are involved, there will be a specific procedure to follow, and it is currently impossible to specify when the area will be cleaned and by whom. The Yerevan municipality will do its utmost within its authority to resolve the issue as quickly as possible," the municipality stated.

We confirmed that the area belongs to "Imperial Construction" company. The organization applied to the Yerevan municipality for a construction permit, but not having received it has been unable to carry out any work. "The municipality had its considerations, the owner had his, and it didn’t work out. Now we are thinking about what type of development will be allowed to us legally," David Sanasaryan, a representative of the organization, stated in an interview with Auroranews.

Sanasaryan pointed out that several years ago, more than 15 projects were developed for the area, and discussions regarding construction should have occurred with both the previous and current authorities, but this has not happened. "Now we are considering conducting urgent improvement work in that area and obtaining permission to build a parking lot, but there are issues with the municipality. The processes are dragging on, and discussions need to happen with property owners. However, the issue is that the trash is being thrown by residents of the neighboring buildings, who are the ones complaining about us," he said.

According to the organization’s representative, they even constructed barriers in that area, which have been demolished. "I do not understand the reason why and specifically who has demolished them."

It should be noted that the coronavirus has not yet been overcome in Armenia, and such unhygienic and dirty areas could contribute to the spread of other infections.