The Yeghegis River is turning into an ecologically dead zone.

Gone are the trout...victims to six mini-hydro electric plants built up and down the river and its tributaries.

In the village of Shatin, in Vayots Dzor, there are already two plants in operation and a third is being built.

The Yeghegis is a 47 kilometre tributary of the Arpa River.

Armenia’s Public Services Regulatory Commission has approved licenses for another eleven to be built.

Local residents say that the Yeghegis has been transformed from a mountain river into a series of connecting pipes.

“We keep talking about the environment. We remember what it used to be like. Or else our grandfathers tell of how all this area was once forest. We never saw that forest. Pretty soon, we’ll be telling our kids about the water that used to run freely here,” lamented Shatin Mayor Aris Smbatyan.