In Pleven, citizens again blocked the entrance to the Municipality with empty cans and bottles in protest against the lack of water.
During the protest, which is being organized for the third consecutive Sunday, Dragomir Aleksiev from the civil association "Contracorruption" presented six demands.
The demands are for the immediate installation of modern systems for monitoring and control of water flows and the implementation of automated measuring and subsequent tracking technologies for accurate reporting of the amount of water entering Pleven; suspension of the design studies for the construction of the "Cherni Osam" dam until written consent is received from the mayors of the settlements near the site of its construction; construction of a new parallel main water supply line from Cherni Osam to Pleven with two independent construction supervisors and provision of daily civil control.
The other points in the requests are to conduct immediate inspections of enterprises, commercial sites and private properties in order to establish unregulated water use; the prosecutor's office to create a specialized investigative team for a full and uncompromising investigation, covering current and former municipal and Water and Sewerage administrators and politicians directly responsible for the water crisis and to hold them accountable. The latest demand is for a complete replacement of the water transmission network of Pleven, with clear information about all activities, materials, funds, deadlines and guarantees for what has been done.
The organizer of the protest, Borislav Tsvetanov, called on the meeting of the crisis headquarters at the regional governor on Friday to include President Rumen Radev, Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov, the Ministers of Regional Development and Public Works Ivan Ivanov and of Environment and Water Manol Genov, and the acting Prosecutor General Borislav Sarafov.
The resignations of the Mayor of Pleven Municipality Valentin Hristov, his deputy with the portfolio of “Public Order and Security“ Lidiya Petkova, the Director of the “Human Resources” Directorate in Pleven Municipality Vladislav Sotirov and the Manager of “ViK” EOOD - Pleven, Eng. Kliment Todorov, were requested. Otherwise, a blockade of the Municipality will be organized.
The protesters chanted “Resign“ and raised red cards. Before the rally in front of the Municipality building, they blocked the main road Byala - Botevgrad in the area of the village of Yasen.
Two weeks ago, the first protest of this summer against the water regime and the water shortage in Pleven and settlements in the region took place. Last Sunday, there was a second protest.
On Thursday, hearings of experts and citizens about the water crisis at a meeting of the Municipal Council in Pleven continued for more than four hours.
The problem with the water supply drove the people of Pleven to protests last year, which began in early December. There were nine protests in Pleven at the end of last year and the beginning of this year. In each of them, and then for a short time, the Byala - Botevgrad road was blocked at the junction near the village of Yasen.