Bulgarians' Patience Runs Dry Over Water Crisis
Fahad Shabbir (@FahadShabbir) Published January 29, 2020 | 08:43 PM
Forced to "live without water, in the 21st century, in a European Union country": Bulgarian Yana Stoyanova is not bemoaning climate change, but the incompetence of the authorities which has left some 100,000 people with an acute water shortage
Pernik, Bulgaria, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 29th Jan, 2020 ) :Forced to "live without water, in the 21st century, in a European Union country": Bulgarian Yana Stoyanova is not bemoaning climate change, but the incompetence of the authorities which has left some 100,000 people with an acute water shortage.
Accountant Stoyanova does not live in an isolated backwater, but around 30 kilometres (19 miles) from the capital Sofia.
She is at the sharp end of a crisis which has led to the environment minister being charged with mismanagement and forced to resign.
It also prompted a parliamentary vote of no confidence on Wednesday in the government -- which it survived.
But the scandal has fed public anger at the failures of those running the EU's poorest country.
The western Bulgarian city of Pernik should have a plentiful supply of water from the nearby Studena dam.
However, the reservoir there is practically empty, with most of the bed now lying exposed.
Pernik residents meanwhile are receiving murky, undrinkable water -- and even that only between 4pm and 10pm (1400-2000 GMT).
For three months now, the daily routine for 36-year-old Stoyanova and her electrical engineer husband has revolved around the shortage.
"When we get back from work at 7pm, we run to take a shower and try to wash everything before 10pm," she explains, with buckets and containers being filled before the taps run dry.
"I try to cook with mineral water, I wash dishes with it and of course I only drink mineral water," says 56-year-old Adelina Ivanova, who has to haul the bottles up seven flights of stairs.
Related Topics
Recent Stories
HEC reviews curricula for environmental sciences degree programme
ICC Asia looking forward to an action-packed Asia Cricket Week
Yuvraj Singh named ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 Ambassador
Greece hands Olympic flame to 2024 Paris Games hosts
Two Kyiv hospitals evacuating over feared Russian strikes
World must act on neurotech revolution, say experts
Charles & Catherine's cancer diagnoses
Champions Alcaraz and Sabalenka through in Madrid Open
King Charles to resume some public duties during cancer treatment: palace
US defense chief announces $6 bn in security aid for Ukraine
Heavy rains cause damage to Spezand-Taftan railway track
Woman stabbed in Israel, attacker killed: police
More Stories From World
-
NFL will allow players to wear Guardian Cap helmets in games
2 hours ago -
Football: German Bundesliga table
2 hours ago -
Football: Italian Serie A result
2 hours ago -
Football: German Bundesliga results
2 hours ago -
US troops to leave Chad in second African state withdrawal
2 hours ago -
Plastics pollution may be solved without production cap: Canada minister
2 hours ago
-
Biden stalls on menthol cigarette ban fearing Black vote backlash
3 hours ago -
Champions Alcaraz and Sabalenka through in Madrid Open
3 hours ago -
6,000 French police to welcome Olympic torch amid bonus boost
3 hours ago -
Taiwan hit by several quakes, strongest reaching 6.1-magnitude
3 hours ago -
'Ballistic' Bairstow stars as Punjab pull off record T20 chase
3 hours ago -
Tennis: ATP/WTA Madrid Open results - 2nd update
3 hours ago