In the 21st century, the residents of Dobrich and dozens of settlements in the region continue to live as if in a state of emergency - without regular access to water, without pressure, without clarity about when the problem will be solved. The facts speak for themselves, and responsibility can no longer be diluted.
In the “Dobrotitsa“ district, which is one of the most prestigious areas of the city, located above St. George Park and the lake, new cooperatives and modern restaurants suffer from a chronic water shortage. When there is water supply at all, the pressure reaches only the lower floors. People on the higher floors are forced to wait for their neighbors to fall asleep so that they can fill a boiler or take a shower. The same picture is repeated in the “Hristo Botev“ district and the “Balik“ district. These are not remote hamlets, but neighborhoods of a regional city. After repairs, the streets remain dug up and unpaved, turning into mud pits at the first rain. Citizens suffer a double blow - without water and without normal infrastructure.
In the Dobrich Municipality, the situation is even more dramatic, with an unofficially declared water regime in effect. In the village of Altsek, the water reaches the first two or three houses. The remaining residents have not had a drop for days and weeks and are filling buckets from their neighbors. This is not a temporary failure, but a systemic failure. In the villages of Vladimirovo, Bozhurovo, Karapelit and Rosenovo, between 60% and 70% of households remain without water, especially in the summer. What is worrying is that the situation does not improve in the winter, despite heavy rainfall. The logical question is: where does the water go?
In Balchik and the villages in the municipality, the crisis is also chronic. The village of Rogachevo, located on a higher ground, is practically left without water due to lack of pressure. There is talk of replacing the pumps with more powerful ones, but for six months now people have been living only on promises. The village of Dropla and the village of Lyakhovo are also without water most of the time. For those living there, this means the impossibility of normal life, agriculture and basic hygiene.
In General Toshevo, the replacement of the long-time district chief with a figure politically linked to the BSP raises questions, but the consequences on the ground are more terrible. There is no water in the village of Dobrin. There is also a nursing home there, whose residents and staff are forced to exist in humiliating conditions. The lack of water in a social institution is not just an administrative oversight, a moral failure. The villages of Zarnevo, Bezmer, Polkovnik Savovo and Balik in the same municipality are also without water.
In the Krushari Municipality, the villages of Zagortsi and Lozenets are also among the victims. When water shortages become an everyday occurrence, they cease to be news, but they do not cease to be a problem.
All this outlines a systemic breakdown in the management of water supply in the Dobrich region, taken over in the middle of last year by Hari Pavlov. Water is not a luxury, but a basic human right and a basic public service. When entire municipalities live on buckets and cans, the issue is no longer technical - it is managerial. For months, the new manager has not only failed to improve the situation in the region, but on the contrary - we are witnessing its continuous deterioration. Pavlov himself has no previous experience in managing any state-owned enterprise. On the other hand, over the years he has moved between various private companies, some of which were public procurement contractors in the water and sanitation sector.
Whether this is precisely what drew his interest to the state-owned enterprise - a large public procurement contractor - is unknown. It is noteworthy, however, that years ago he was Chairman of the Board of Directors of one of the companies raided during the infamous operation "Octopus". It is alleged that he is among the activists of "Yes Bulgaria".