People from six villages in the Rhodope Mountains fell into a water trap for the fourth time this year after the full-flowing Arda River flooded the bridge, which is the only road to the settlements. The situation is repeated every year when the river level rises, and nearly 500 people from the region have been affected, Nova TV specifies.
The location is the village of Kitnitsa. The bridge was built 60 years ago and Arda floods it every time there is a high water level. Until a few years ago, an alternative was a rope bridge, but it was also washed away by the river.
The mayor of the village of Kitnitsa, Sali Myumyun, sums up the situation with the words “God is high, the king is far away“. Local people share the feeling that they are abandoned, as according to Fahrettin Halil “we are punished not only by nature, but also by the state“.
This is how the people of the Rhodope Mountains welcome another high water of Arda, which instead of bringing blessings, turns into a disaster.
According to the regional governor of Kardzhali Nikola Chanev, the bridge “was designed to be flooded“, and in his words “the population is prepared for these conditions“, but despite this, the situation “is not normal“.
Behind the flooded bridge remain the villages of Rusalsko, Lyubino, Latinka, Avramovo, Pesnopoy and Spoluka. The only connection with them for days remains the telephone, and when checked, people assure: “we have no problems at the moment, we have no sick people“.
The mayor of Kitnitsa points out that people have become accustomed to this situation that has been going on for decades. According to him, the bridge was built in 1965 and at every high water, the residents “pre-stock themselves with medicine and food“, but in emergencies it is impossible to send an ambulance. “We raise our hands and pray for the health of the people“.
Fahrettin Halil, who is a peer of the bridge and works at the hydroelectric power plant on the river, says that for years “they keep promising, promising, promising, but there is no fulfillment“, and according to him “the promise is not the same as the fulfillment“.
The mayor of Kitnitsa recalls that in the past, because of this bridge, many people migrated to the interior of the country, since “students could not go to study“ and “for exams they could not could appear“, as there have been numerous such cases.
The bridge is part of the republican road network and, according to the regional governor of Kardzhali, is currently in the pre-project preparation procedure together with another bridge facility and 22 km of road. In his words, “things are literally about to be signed with the contractor“, and within “a month, a month and a half the contract should be a fact“, if everything goes normally. “The design deadline is 150 days, after which we must move on to financing and a new public procurement for the construction“.
However, when a new bridge will actually be there, the regional governor cannot commit himself, and Fahrettin Halil no longer believes that he will see it. He stated that “the project would have been done at the end of 2024“, but “2025 has passed, 2026 has come“, expressing hope that at least his grandchildren will be able to see him. According to him, his nerves are not holding up and if the promises continue, he is ready “to take the tent and declare a hunger strike in front of the ministry“.
Due to the problematic bridge, the Ardino municipality declares a partial state of emergency several times a year.