The river bed is being cleaned and expanded in the Hrazdan gorge. Trash and sludge piled for years are removing to increase throughput.
According to Arsen Karoyan, the head of the communal economy department of the Yerevan Municipality, there is sludge, mud accumulated in the river bed because of which the river bed narrowed and the water capacity decreased by 60-70%.
Yerevan Municipality plans to remove about 9000 cubic meters of garbage in this year's program. Currently the activities are going on at one point. The technique is working right in the river.
Karoyan added that the most vulnerable areas, where the water level can rise and cause serious problems, are selected.
Hrazdan Gorge is the most important part of Yerevan's ecosystem. The municipality also intends to change the status of Hrazdan Gorge as a specially protected natural area. The professional studies of biodiversity started at the end of last year.
"After figuring out the actual situation, we will prepare a government decision by which the gorge will be granted the status of a specially protected area. After that, the significance of the land will change, it will become environmental and new constructions will not take be possible" says Gorik Avetisyan, deputy head of the Nature Protection Department of the Yerevan Municipality.
Protection of Yerevan's water systems, including the Hrazdan, from pollution, is a priority for the Municipality. With this purpose, the bed of the river's tributaries is also cleaned every year.