Yesterday, "Hetq" covered the story about how some concerned citizens stopped a store owner from chopping down the last remaining tree next to his shop. We had gotten in touch with Karen Papoyan, who heads the Environmental Inspectorate at the Ministry of Nature Protection. He, in turn, dispatched a team of specialists to the site to investigate.

Today, we have learnt that the store owner in question was fined 80,000 AMD for the violation. Despite the fact that the tree was severely damaged, ministry experts say that the tree will continue to grow. Local residents claim that the store owner has illegally chopped down a number of tress in the vicinity of his shop located at the corner of the third and fourth buildings in District #2 in Davitashen.