THEY WANTED THE STATUE TO BE VISIBLE

A1Plus.am
06/05/10

The Yerevan municipality has not permitted any construction at
"Student Park", as stated in the press release by Yerevan municipality.

"It is about upgrading and renovating the two old-fashioned pavilions
of the cafe that has been around since 1996."

Let us remind that a new movement has launched to demand the suspension
of construction at "Student Park".

According to the municipality’s press release, "the cafes built
next to each other occupied larger space. In addition, the park on
Abovyan Street and the statue of Victor Hambartsumyan were practically
invisible. A group of academics and scientists had raised the issue of
the statue’s visibility and renovation of the area during the opening
of Victor Hambartsumyan’s statue. Taking this into account, Yerevan
municipality has assigned the contractor to ensure the visibility of
Victor Hambartsumyan’s statue from Abovyan Street."

According to the assignment, the pavilions have been moved back 3
meters each due to which the width of the alley is now 10.5 meters
instead of the previous 4.5 meters. This ensures the statue’s
visibility and creates a sort of square. Let us also mention that
the volume and surface areas of pavilions have become smaller as a
result of reconstruction.

The altitude of the pavilion is now 4.30 meters instead of the
previous 5.30 meters. According to the confirmed plan, the pavilions
will be open in the summer and covered in the winter with mobile
glass windows. The company in charge of construction, "Elegant 5"
has agreed to renovate the area near the statue based on an agreement
with Yerevan municipality.

The tiled floor and rocks of the alley and area near Hambartsumyan’s
statue will be fully renovated, while the bushes and lawns will
be refreshed.

The plan for reconstruction has been developed and confirmed with
the exclusion of deforestation. The municipality has not granted
any permission for deforestation. As far as illegal deforestation is
concerned, the Ministry of Nature Protection is in charge of control
and application of sanctions."

The sketch for reconstruction is posted on Abovyan Street and clearly
shows that the park will have a new look after construction with a
renovated entrance.

No underground structure?

Representatives of "We are the owners of this city" initiative and
the municipality held a three-hour discussion yesterday.

"After listening to the group’s arguments, the mayor promised to
prohibit future construction and exclude underground structures in
green areas of Yerevan. Although we did not reach a clear agreement
and there was no progress with respect to the issue related to the
park, we believe we sent the main message to the mayor," as members
of the initiative told "A1+".