Residents of Katunitsa protested because of the polluted air from the sewage sludge depot that has been smoldering for almost 2 weeks. After dry grass and bushes caught fire on October 28, the fire spread to the old waterworks depot with an area of over 100 acres. Difficult terrain makes it difficult for fire crews to fully extinguish smoldering areas. High concentrations of fine dust particles were reported again last night, both in Katunitsa, where there is a mobile station, and in the Trakia region of Plovdiv.
In the evening and early morning it is difficult to breathe in the whole area, say the people of Katunitsa. Residents of the nearby villages of Yagodovo and Krumovo were also included in the protest, who also complain about the gassing that has been going on for nearly 2 weeks.
"The country is gassing us. Entry is at your own risk". A poster with this text was erected by the protesters, who are outraged that they have not been living normally for almost two weeks.
"I have bronchitis and in the morning it is impossible to breathe. The smokes are huge. We have no words, they poisoned us. It smells awful. It's hard to breathe. In the evening it is most felt, it depends on which neighborhood of the village it is in. It's hard, it's stuffy, we smell our clothes, everything comes to us, to the washing through the windows. I live 600 meters away from the fire in a straight line. A disgusting, suffocating smell in the morning and especially in the evening, because maybe during the day they somehow try to put it out. There are people who have lung diseases. It's terrible. Some action must be taken. They turn people into prisoners in their own homes," said people from Katunitsa, Krumovo, Yagodovo, and other settlements, gathered in front of the Katunitsa town hall, where the mobile air measurement station is also located.
The Chairman of the Municipal Council in Sadovo, Atanas Telcharov, said that the pouring of inert materials has begun in order to reach the hard-to-reach areas. Previously, hydromotor modules were installed to pump large quantities of water from the Chaya River.
"Since yesterday, heavy machinery has been working there with trucks, bulldozers, ring excavators, and I dare say that little by little it has some kind of better effect at the moment. Some already have health problems. The permanent solution to the problem for us is either to remove these sediments to a safe distance, far from populated areas, or the terrain itself must be recultivated," explained Telcharov.
The Mayor of Sadovo Municipality Dimitar Zdravkov sent a letter with such requests to the Acting Prime Minister Dimitar Glavchev. The mayor explained that he is ready for the project of V and K for the reclamation of the landfill, which is from 2018, to be updated. The partial disaster situation in Katunitsa remains at this stage.
If the gassing continues and adequate measures are not proposed, people have threatened to block major roads in the area.