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Chaired by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, a consultative meeting was held today to discuss pressing issues related to the irrigation season, the PM’s official website reported.

Pashinyan first dwelt on the country’s irrigation needs, the forecasts made earlier. “The current status of Lake Sevan makes us state that we must stop treating Sevan as a toy or a container of water. This is absolutely unacceptable,” he said. “Unfortunately, looking upon the Lake as a container of water has long been a feature of state policy in Armenia, and today we can see its adverse consequences. I hope that those present treat the problem from this very perspective. After all, we must break through this closed and undesirable chain.”

The responsible officials provided information on the water level in the reservoirs, the amount of water necessary for full coverage of irrigation needs, as well as details concerning the pumping stations of Ranchpar and Mkhchyan.

During the exchange of opinions that followed, the speakers came up with several proposals and recommendations. The meeting next focused on the need to reduce water losses in irrigation systems, control over the operations of hydroelectric power stations and the environmental problems faced in this area.

Summing up the meeting, Pashinyan instructed to set up a working group, headed by Deputy Prime Minister Tigran Avinyan and featuring representatives from interested government departments to discuss the supply of irrigation water to farms as soon as possible and submit relevant proposals. 

“We need to study the situation and find ways of addressing the problem without releasing water from Lake Sevan. The problem should be solved efficiently and as soon as possible,” Nikol Pashinyan said, stressing the need to develop the nationwide network of drip irrigation systems.