“Institutions and investors, in a brazen union, have turned the rivers into a galactic line.” This was stated by fishermen in Bulgaria, who are preparing for a protest in front of the Council of Ministers and the Ministry of Environment and Water on June 10 at 6:30 p.m.
“In the last two years we have witnessed unprecedented and brazen poisoning of rivers! Such poisoning has never been. NEVER !!! “Almost every day there are reports of new and new cases of poisoning, and no one is taking responsibility,” says the reason for the protest, organized by the Fishing Club “Balkanika”. Fishermen are also dissatisfied with the fact that if administrative violations are imposed, the fines are disproportionate to the violation itself. “There is also a trend … some are investigating them and others seem to be untouchable,” organizers said on Facebook.
In addition to a crime under the Criminal Code, water poisoning has a direct impact on human life and health. River pollution is directly related to the quality of drinking water sources, as most of them are located in river terraces.
“The rivers have been turned into a poisonous kenef, into the sewage of industry, the mining industry, rosaries, all kinds of processing plants,” say the fishermen.
Topolnitsa, Tundzha, Yantra, Osam, Maritsa, Vacha, Yugovska, Chaya, Strelchenska Luda Yana, Iskar, Struma, Malak Iskar, Zlatarishka, Mesta !!! These are just a few of the rivers that will never be the same, Balkanika said.
Along with the poisoning of the rivers, the people most strongly associated with them, namely fishermen and kayakers, are witnessing another “tale” every day: Hundreds of Bulgarian rivers are being drained because of the profits of a handful of people. Here the list is endless, as the memory of the last drying of one of the big mountain rivers – the river Vacha – is still fresh. The Golyama Kamchia River, which the fishermen once called the “Paradise River”, and the MoEW turned into a JSC in the last year and a half and especially since the beginning of 2020 !!!, the protesters are indignant.
“It’s not just investors who are to blame. Those who have solved all these crimes with their incompetence, negligence, and probably with their dependence must also take responsibility. Because behind most of them sits someone’s signature; behind a large part of the crimes there are a lot of scams and most of all – not a small part are committed again and again, by the same responsible persons “, claim the organizers of the dissatisfaction.
“If you do not agree with what is happening, come to protest alongside the people who have been trying for years to change the system to keep the rivers wild and alive. Bring fishing rods, whistles, posters to be heard and noticed “, call the fishermen, who officially number about 250,000 in our country.
The meeting point is the Council of Ministers on June 10 at 6:30 p.m.
Translator: Valentina Vagge
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Improving public knowledge about the role of Civil Society Organizations
The project “Improving public knowledge about the role of Civil Society Organizations” shall be implemented with the financial support of Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway under the EEA Financial Mechanism. The main goal of the project is to improve citizens’ awareness of the role of non-governmental organizations in society. This material is established with the financial support of the Active Citizens Fund of Bulgaria under the Financial Mechanism of the European Economic Area. The whole responsibility for the content of the document is held by the Public Environmental Center for Sustainable Development and under no circumstances can this material be considered to reflect the official opinion of the Financial Mechanism of the European Economic Area and the Active Citizens Fund of Bulgaria.