site.btaResidents of Devin Block Main Road to Smolyan, Protest over Water Supply Restrictions

Residents of Devin blocked the main road to the southern towns of Smolyan and Krichim in protest against the restricted water supply in their settlement.

With placards “We want a normal life”, “Devin sells water, but there is no water!!!”, “We do not want water restrictions”, and “We want a future for the Rhodope Mountains”, people demanded a check why the town is subjected to water supply restrictions every summer.

Eli Alova, who took part the protest,  told BTA: "I am ashamed to say that the whole country buys [mineral and spring] water from Devin, but we here go thirsty." She noted hat for three days there was no water in the town, and added that for her it is not normal that this happens in a resort town that is visited by many tourists in the summer. "Recently, there has been an outflow of guests, reservations are being cancelled en masse because of the lack of water. Business is booming in Devin. If the government does not listen to us, does not come to check everything and find out who is to blame, Devin will be wiped out as a town from the map of Bulgaria. People in the Rhodope Mountains are not second-class," Alova added.

Vassil Brezaliev and his wife Imela Kokova, also at the protest, showed photos of their coffee machine's tank, where the water turned green for a week. They believe that the water flowing from their taps is not of the right quality and is not from the Baldaran spring.

Also at the protest to support the people of Devin was former constitutional judge Prof. Plamen Kirov, who comes to Devin every summer on vacation. "I like this part of Bulgaria very much - it is a fairy tale, and it is a shame that the water stops inexplicably almost every day. What kind of tourism are they going to develop when they cannot provide the holidayers with water? And at the same time, we see some trucks that constantly pass with bottled water, which supplies almost all of Bulgaria," said Prof. Kirov.

Todor Batkov Jr, who is the organizer of the protest, explained that he initiated it to draw public attention to the problems of Devin Municipality. According to him, the politicians who are "supposedly committed" to the Rhodope Mountains do nothing. "Devin is thirsty, Devin is suffering, Devin is perishing," Batkov Jr. said.