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VARDANASHEN VILLAGE - "RESIDENTS CAN ONLY DREAM ABOUT INDOOR PLUMBING"
Grisha Balasanyan
http://hetq.am/eng/articles/27704/vardanashen-village-%E2%80%93-%E2%80%9Cresidents-can-only-dream-about-indoor-plumbing%E2%80%9D.html
13:40, June 27, 2013
Vardanashen, a village in the southern Armenian province of Armavir,
is a mere 3.5 kilometres from the border with Turkey.
1,360 residents are officially registered in Vardanashen, but many
no longer live there.
Vardanashen Deputy Mayor Edik Zakaryan told Hetq that certain
improvements have been made in the village in the past few years.
Natural gas is now supplied and village roads are to be repaired.
But many problems remain, especially water for drinking. Presently,
residents draw their potable water from artesian wells but Zakaryan
says that the numerous fish farms in the area are using up this
underground resource at an alarming rate.
Another issue deals with the birth rate. "Couples have one son and
one daughter and that's it. Who can care for more kids given today's
economic conditions?" asks Zakaryan.
Hakob Hovasapyan Edik Zakaryan The deputy mayor sees greater
agricultural exports as the only practical resolution to the problems
facing the village.
Zakaryan recently travelled to Moscow, where he visited the Globus
Supermarket. He was surprised to see row upon row of Bulgarian
vegetables and asks why Armenian products aren't being marketed
overseas.
"We don't really have a Ministry of Agriculture here in Armenia. They
just get government money but do little with it," complains Zakaryan.
The decreasing population also concerns school Principal Hakob
Hovasapyan. He says that ten years ago,enrollment stood at 220 pupils
and has dropped to 160 today.
"Migration is the main reason for the drop. Mostly Yezidi families
leave the village. This year alone three families have picked up and
gone," notes Hovasapyan, adding that 90% of those who have left had
bank loans to pay off. Finding work is the main reason people leave
Vardanashen.
Principal Hovasapyan says it's high time that the government turns it
focus away from the urban areas and towards Armenia rural communities.
"Most people here are living in the most basic of conditions. Even
having a shower or an indoor toilet is a dream," he said.
Grisha Balasanyan
http://hetq.am/eng/articles/27704/vardanashen-village-%E2%80%93-%E2%80%9Cresidents-can-only-dream-about-indoor-plumbing%E2%80%9D.html
13:40, June 27, 2013
Vardanashen, a village in the southern Armenian province of Armavir,
is a mere 3.5 kilometres from the border with Turkey.
1,360 residents are officially registered in Vardanashen, but many
no longer live there.
Vardanashen Deputy Mayor Edik Zakaryan told Hetq that certain
improvements have been made in the village in the past few years.
Natural gas is now supplied and village roads are to be repaired.
But many problems remain, especially water for drinking. Presently,
residents draw their potable water from artesian wells but Zakaryan
says that the numerous fish farms in the area are using up this
underground resource at an alarming rate.
Another issue deals with the birth rate. "Couples have one son and
one daughter and that's it. Who can care for more kids given today's
economic conditions?" asks Zakaryan.
Hakob Hovasapyan Edik Zakaryan The deputy mayor sees greater
agricultural exports as the only practical resolution to the problems
facing the village.
Zakaryan recently travelled to Moscow, where he visited the Globus
Supermarket. He was surprised to see row upon row of Bulgarian
vegetables and asks why Armenian products aren't being marketed
overseas.
"We don't really have a Ministry of Agriculture here in Armenia. They
just get government money but do little with it," complains Zakaryan.
The decreasing population also concerns school Principal Hakob
Hovasapyan. He says that ten years ago,enrollment stood at 220 pupils
and has dropped to 160 today.
"Migration is the main reason for the drop. Mostly Yezidi families
leave the village. This year alone three families have picked up and
gone," notes Hovasapyan, adding that 90% of those who have left had
bank loans to pay off. Finding work is the main reason people leave
Vardanashen.
Principal Hovasapyan says it's high time that the government turns it
focus away from the urban areas and towards Armenia rural communities.
"Most people here are living in the most basic of conditions. Even
having a shower or an indoor toilet is a dream," he said.