Residents protest water restrictions in Pernik

Residents in Pernik on November 20 staged a protest outside the headquarters of the water and sewerage company in the city. because of the water restrictions introduced in the region. They demanded the resignation of the Head of the company.

The protest is over, but the protesters blocked the traffic for 2 hours in the area of the building. They said that the measures taken to avoid the water crisis were late and demanded the resignations of those responsible for the situation. They wanted to personally speak with the manager of the water company Ivan Vitanov but he did not go to them. The protesters tried to rush into the building.

Some were admitted to a meeting with him inside the building. It went on for more than an hour. During that time, it started to rain and tension escalated. People started throwing eggs on the building. Some pushed the BNT camera operator and the camera itself.

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Water restrictions were introduced in Bulgaria’s Pernik municipality starting on November 18. In the next months, residents will have running water for 10 hours a day. Water supply is available between 5 am and 10 am in the morning and 5 pm to 10 pm in the evening.

About 60,000 people will be affected by the water restrictions.

The mayor of Pernik, Stanislav Vladimirov had threatened the water supply company with court action if it did not keep to the hours of the water restrictions and warned the restrictions will continue for a period of up to 5 months. He also said that he would refer to the Prosecutor’s office requesting it to check the causes that lead to the reduced water resources in the dam.