A Century-Old Electric Pole on the Brink of Collapse, While HEC Is Indifferent

For the past 2 days, the road from Saralanj to the beginning of Bournazyan Street in the Erebuni administrative district of Yerevan has been closed. According to residents of Bournazyan Street, the cause of this disruption is the indifference of the ‘Armenian Electric Networks’ company.

In a conversation with photojournalist Gagik Shamshyan, residents stated, “For years, this wooden electric pole, installed during the USSR era, could collapse at any moment. At this point, the pole is basically leaning, leaning only because the power lines are holding it up. We have repeatedly contacted the ‘Armenian Electric Networks’ company and the Erebuni municipality, but they have shown stone-hearted indifference.

Two days ago, we had to call the Ministry of Emergency Situations’ 911 crisis management center, where people responded promptly to our calls. But this is not the job of the rescuers; the ‘Armenian Electric Networks’ must take action to replace this century-old pole with a new one. It seems they are waiting for the pole to fall on someone’s head before they take action.

Representatives from the Ministry of Emergency Situations came, delineated the area, but they are not pole changers. More than 100 houses rely on this electric pole. We cannot imagine what will happen if it collapses. Today, representatives from the Erebuni municipality came, took pictures, and left. They have no shame; perhaps they would even take a selfie and consider their job done. We don’t know whom to turn to. We continue to make regular payments. At least they should show a little human approach and solve this abandoned issue, which isn’t hard. A few hours of sincere work, and the problem could be resolved.