FAMILIES IN GYUMRI FORCED TO LEAVE THEIR COTTAGES, SAYS NGO
Tert.am
03.02.11
Shirak Centre, a local NGO, has release a statement in which it says
that the Gyumri Municipality issued a written warning that those
residents who were provided with newly-built apartments in Gyumri’s
Mush-2 district in 2010 will from February 28 have to leave their
temporary cottages.
Otherwise, the Municipality warned, those temporary cottages will be
dismantled by the workers of the Municipality.
Hundreds of families are still living in temporary cottages in Shirak
region, following the 1988 devastating earthquake that claimed more
than 20,000 lives in the north-western part of Armenia.
“This statement has in the true meaning of the word kicked up a fuss
especially among those homeless families that have six or more members
but have received a one or two-room flat,” read the statement.
Further, it said that some of these families used to live in two
or three temporary cottages and are now going to hand over only one
of them.
The problem is, the NGO explained, that 23 years now after the
earthquake, most of those homeless families have grown which is
causing serious problems as long as housing is concerned.
Some of these families have from six to 12 members now and have to
live in flats that are very small for them.
The NGO also said that dozens of these multi-member families are asking
them to interfere with the Gyumri Municipality so that it will allow
them to keep at least some part of their temporary cottages.
“In that case, some part of the multi-member families will move to
the new flats, while the rest will continue living in the temporary
cottages,” the statement read.
From: A. Papazian