site.btaUPDATED Pleven Residents Hold Second Protest over Water Shortage

Pleven held its second protest this summer on Sunday over severe water rationing that supplies households for only three hours in the morning and evening.

Demonstrators piled empty canisters and bottles outside the Water Utility Company and the Town Hall, blocked traffic near the utility for about 30 minutes, and called for resignations, accountability and effective, monitored measures.

The march then moved to the Town Hall, where an open microphone invited proposals; protesters warned they would block main roads unless concrete action followed. The demonstration lasted about three hours.

As BTA previously reported, the first protest this summer against the water restrictions and shortages in Pleven and surrounding settlements took place last Sunday.

Water supply issues led to protests in Pleven last year, starting in early December. A total of nine protests took place in Pleven at the end of last year and the beginning of this year. During each protest, the Sofia-Ruse road near the Yasen village junction was briefly blocked.

The Pleven local utility company plans BGN 40 million in works to replace ageing distribution pipes and install a cast-iron main, with construction targeted for September; the Municipality is reprogramming investments toward water and sewer upgrades and has set up an ad hoc crisis committee. The cabinet ordered feasibility studies for a Cherni Osam reservoir, treatment plant and main pipeline, while Parliament’s Committee on the Environment is drafting urgent measures and the regulator is inspecting utilities. Nationally, 260,868 people in 16 towns and 283 villages face disruptions (NGOs cite 430,000 under declared rationing); drinking-water dams are 65.48% full and the Environment Minister says human consumption is not at critical risk.