Veolia Water Fails to Address Damaged Pipe Issue in Norakert

The administrative head of Norakert community in Armavir region, Hasmik Garsevanian, has contacted the editorial office of "Haykakan Zhamanak" to raise concerns regarding a damaged pipe that has left residents without drinking water for over a month. The break occurred due to an accident, yet Veolia Water has not provided any solutions to the problem.

According to Garsevanian, they do not know how the pipe was damaged, but water is leaking out. "The pipe is located on the central street of Norakert. One of the residents informed me that water is flowing into their yard, and then it became clear that the main pipe has been damaged. Initially, they reported it to the company, and after a few weeks, they said they would come to repair it, but they haven’t shown up. We then called their hotline, and I contacted their engineer, who again stated they would come, but to this day, they still haven’t come," Garsevanian detailed.

She mentioned that the company also indicated they have "more important tasks" to attend to.

Residents and the administrative head are extremely concerned about the exposed pipe and the potential issues it can cause related to public health. "You cannot joke with drinking water; that damaged section can lead to various infections," she warned.

Garsevanian observes a possible political dimension in the company's indifference and lack of response. "I spoke with another engineer named Khachik, who said, 'My supervisor is sending me elsewhere.' His supervisor is from the 'Living Country' party, which I know. It is no secret that our former leader had an illegal water pipeline, and the company came to restore that pipeline, meaning they wanted to integrate it into Norakert's unified water supply. We did not allow that, and their issue remained unresolved. Maybe that’s why they want to harm us by not addressing this incident," she stated.

We also reached out to Zara Nazaryan, the spokesperson for Veolia Water, regarding this issue. She told us that it takes a few days to investigate and ascertain whether such reports have been received. She emphasized that all notifications are registered with the company’s hotline.

As for Garsevanian’s suspicions of a political agenda, Nazaryan assured, "This is excluded; forget that. There are no political motives involved, regardless of who it is or who the issue is related to." In a conversation with "Haykakan Zhamanak," the Health and Labor Inspection Body also stated that no such reports have been recorded recently, but if residents wish to file a complaint, they can approach the inspection body to present the issue, following which the authority will initiate administrative proceedings.