Residents of Marmarashen Village Demand Restoration of Route 44, Block Road

A tense situation has been ongoing for over an hour in the Ararat region. Residents of Marmarashen village, protesting, have blocked the road and refuse to open it, justifying their actions by stating that they will not reopen the road until the Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructures of Armenia and the Governor of Ararat region arrive.

In an interview with photojournalist Gagik Shamshyan, the villagers said, “We are forced to resort to this extreme measure because we don’t know what official decided to neglect urban transport in our village. Previously, there were 2 transport routes, including Route 44. Now it has been removed, and not only the residents of our village but also residents of several villages are left in a dire situation. We demand that Route 44 be restored, otherwise, we will continue to keep the road blocked.”

Currently, officers from the Masis division of the police and traffic police have arrived and are trying to convince the villagers to open the road, but they insist that they have no intention of backing down until the relevant officials come.