Residents of the village of Shën Vasil in Himara in southern Albania complain they do not have water to irrigate their lands, although there is a contract signed by the state with the HPP of Bunec.
According to this contract, from May 1 to October 1, the villages of Shën Vasil and Piqeras were to be supplied with 800 liters of water per second, but nothing alike has happened.
“We have a problem with water because we have not had water for four years. Funds come to the Municipality but no work is done. The canal has not been cleaned for four years,” say the residents.
The water coming from Sasaj passes down the village through underground tunnels and irrigates other lands beyond St. Vasil. Residents go even further as one of them says he has kept track of the dates when they have had water since 2019. “I have kept the dates when the water came every year, that was on July 25, 2019, – on June 20, 2020, and on June 27, 202. This year it did not come at all.”
In a locality called “Zhupdena” in St. Basil, a lady who was trying to work in the middle of the heat on a plot with some vegetables, tells Fiks Fare that they go far with their donkeys to collect water.
Fiks Fare addressed the Municipality of Himara to ask about the problem raised by the residents. The Director of the Land and Pasture Management Directorate explains that this is a problem carried over from before.
“We have a dead artery here, which we are repairing. Because this canal is 15 km long and has been severely damaged along its entire length. Before St. Vasil, a tunnel was built before the 1990s, that we were able to maintain it with great difficulties.
“And we kave been bringing water up to near the tunnel. We have been carrying water for years, while this year we have a problem cleaning it.”
The director claims that there is a tender that is currently open for its cleaning, and that it is being worked on by the employees of the municipality.
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