As reported recently in Hetq, several rural communities in Armavir Marz are facing the very real threat of having their irrigation water cut off by the local utility for non-payment.

This morning, at 10, a meeting was scheduled to take place in the village of Amberd.

Seyran Sargsyan, Director of the Khoy Water Consumers' Union, had called for a community meeting. He was to tell residents that the utility would be turning off the irrigation water as of today due to unpaid bills.

Naturally, those who paid their outstanding bills would still get water for their crops.

Only 10 people showed up outside the village mayor's office even though all had been informed in person.

Even Mayor Manvel Babayan was a no-show. I guess he had more important matters to attend to. His staff said he couldn't be reached and our phone calls went unanswered.

Director Sargsyan told those villagers who did show up that the present situation was untenable and that the water utility was accountable to the government.

He said that while villagers are slapped with penalties for non-payment of their water bills, the utilities are so penalized by the government for water consumption.

Residents at the meeting confessed that the utility had provided them with water but that they just couldn't pay the bills.

"Hey. Sargsyan isn't to blame. He has to report to his higher-ups. What more can us villagers do, die and have done with it?" said one of them.

Director Sargsyan assured residents that he would personally make sure that those who paid their bills would get the water they needed.

He then took out the list of non-payers. There isn't one village resident that doesn't owe something to the utility.

Director Sargsyan told Hetq that Amberd owes a total of 38 million AMD to Khoy and that the community has only come up with 2 million.

The neighboring village of Doghs owes a total of 26.5 million and residents there will see their water turned off as well in the next few days.

"We're not even talking about the bill for this year. These are bills that go back to 2004," Sargsyan said.