After meeting with all sides in the Getahovit hydro-plant debate, RA Minister of the Environment Aram Harutyunyan declared that “I believe that it is necessary to cease construction of the plant.”

Getahovit residents and local activists had earlier staged a noisy protest outside the ministry to voice their opposition to the plant and to highlight the damage being caused to the local environment.

Village residents also claimed that the work had deprived them of drinking water for the past twenty days and that the local river had dried up as a consequence.

Minister Harutyunyan directed his office to organize a working group comprised of government officials, civic groups and local groups to conduct an inspection of the site and report their findings within ten days.