The River is on the Brink of an Environmental Disaster, Minister Publishes Photos

I am in one of the picturesque corners of our country. The river is evidently on the brink of an environmental disaster (perhaps already partially irreversible). This was stated by Minister of Environment Romanos Petrasyan on his Facebook page, where he also published photographs.

He specifically noted: “The photos were taken just 5 minutes apart. The first photo shows the riverbed, drained due to the dam of one of the hydropower plants on the bank, as a clear manifestation of a violation of the established ECOZONING. The second photo shows the same dam immediately after our visit, reaching out to the owners and operators of the hydropower plants operating in the area.”

“P.S. I am not specifically naming the location. The visit will be followed by an interagency commission and inspections mandated by regulatory bodies as per the law. P.P.S. We are waging an relentless fight for the enforcement of environmental legislation, the adherence to requirements established by the positive conclusions of environmental impact assessments, and in general, for the protection of environmental interests, and we will never retreat. A more detailed announcement will be made later.”