The information received from 149 air quality measuring devices installed in Yerevan is available online on the official website of Yerevan Municipality www.yerevan.am. During the regular working meeting, it was reported that every year, as a result of unfavorable meteorological conditions, the level of air pollution is exceeded, which is due to the landscape, when cold air accumulates in the lowlands of the Ararat Basin, which leads to an increase in the level of air pollution in these areas. It was also marked that according to measurements, in Yerevan the permissible limit of emissions of hazardous gases, nitrogen, sulfur, heavy metals and persistent organic pollutants typical for large cities is not exceeded. In order to solve this problem, Mayor Tigran Avinyan instructed to develop a four-year comprehensive plan within two months, which will cover all the necessary points. "We promised in our election program to install the appropriate devices throughout the city, and this has already been done. Pollution resulting from our activities should be under the control of the city authorities. The four-year program will include general conceptual proposals. In terms of improving air quality it will include planting trees, creating forest belts, as well as certain restrictions on the use of old cars in Yerevan, which are major polluters. A number of other areas in which Yerevan Municipality has the authority to take effective steps will also be involved in the plan," the Mayor noted.
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A new city park will be created adjacent to Myasnikyan Avenue and Lvovyan Street. Some of the illegally occupied land plots have already been returned to the community, and work with the rest will continue next year. This will be the fifth city forest area, the largest in the city. The territory will have a bicycle path, an artificial lake, an amphitheater, and an eco-cafe.
"Next year we will have another 30 hectares of forest areas. It is absurd that our opponents regularly accuse us of eliminating the green fund in Yerevan, while over the past two years, trees have been planted in Yerevan on dozens of hectares to form parks and forest areas. If we compare the past two years with the past few decades, we can claim that over the past two years, far more trees were planted in Yerevan, and these trees did not dry out in two months, since irrigation systems were installed at the same time," Tigran Avinyan emphasized.
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As part of the program of events dedicated to the New Year and Christmas holidays, Yerevan Municipality purchased services from theater and concert organizations for holding children's concerts and performances: about 20 thousand tickets were distributed to public organizations, employees of various sectors of the city economy, children from needy and vulnerable families.
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According to the decision of Yerevan Council of Elders, business operators are required to clear snow from the areas adjacent to their place of business, and after the end of precipitation, to clear sidewalks from snow and ice, as well as to organize seasonal landscaping and improvement of the territory. According to the new law of local self-government of Yerevan, the severity of actions regarding unfulfilled obligations will be significantly increased.
"The idea that Yerevan Municipality is obliged to carry out improvements in all parts of the city has nothing to do with the reality. The Municipality has its powers and obligations, business owners have their own ones, and condominiums have their own range of responsibilities,” the Mayor emphasized.
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The contract for the construction of a monument to the famous artist, chansonnier, and national hero of Armenia Charles Aznavour has been signed, and the corresponding funding has already been allotted from the 2024 city budget.
The process of creating and installing the sculpture will continue in 2025, and the opening ceremony of the monument is planned for May 22, as the end of the series of events dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the great artist’s birth.