Residents of Bardzravan Are Denied Emergency Services and Public Transport After the Installation of Azerbaijani Checkpoint

The community of Bardzravan in the enlarged Goris municipality is facing serious challenges following the installation of a checkpoint on the interstate highway. Until an alternative route is established, residents will remain blocked, making it impossible for even regular emergency calls from Goris to reach them.

In an interview with “Factinfo,” the village's administrative leader, Onik Avagyan, expressed several concerns arising from the checkpoint's installation. “Essentially, they have set up a checkpoint and already closed the road to Goris. Now we must rely on an alternative route. It is under construction but remains unfinished, and weather conditions may not allow for its completion. If it is not completed, we will be completely cut off,” he stated.

Avagyan also questioned why the Armenian side has chosen to install a checkpoint, pondering who would be passing through that section. “If it is customs, you're crossing a state border, and it seems that you should adhere to all regulations stipulated by their legislation. That's how I see it. If you enter the territory of a state, you must comply with its regulations. They have established this checkpoint, and from that point forward, people will neither come nor go through that road,” he explained.

He noted that even currently, due to weather conditions, exiting and re-entering the village has become difficult. Though the government has announced that a road will be constructed for Bardzravan and three other villages, this alone does not resolve the issue. Residents of Bardzravan typically travel to Goris for work and essential matters.

“As of today, if someone in the village passes away and we call for an ambulance, no matter how much they want, they cannot get here. That opportunity doesn’t exist. In other matters, the people are cut off from everything. The public transport that used to operate, through which people would go to Goris to obtain food, bread, and essential items, has also been halted. Essentially, that too has been cut off. The bus cannot operate due to the closed roads. The alternative road being constructed is only a 10 km section, of which only 5 km has been completed,” he said.

To reach Goris, the distance has now at least doubled, and so have the expenses. Where it once took 33 km to get to Goris, it now takes a minimum of 70 km.

According to Avagyan, residents will not use the main highway, which may have been the goal all along. “If it used to cost 1000 drams to get to Goris, now it will cost 2000 drams, and expenses are increasing. Problems arise with agricultural products — meat, milk, which they used to sell — there is no one to take them away. It’s too far, and they won’t go. Currently, there are livestock that villagers want to sell, but they cannot because there are no buyers. In previous years, buyers would come, take them away, and people would keep them. Now they cannot deliver their produce,” said Avagyan.

The administrative head believes there is a gradual effort to cut the residents off from the road, putting the population in a difficult situation in hopes that they will willingly leave the area, effectively allowing the road to remain with the enemy. “They are putting people in such conditions to intimidate them, forcing them to leave,” Avagyan concluded.