Residents of the village of Mezhgoran in Tepelena in the southeast of Albania, have been trying for two days to prevent the start of works for a local water supply system that according to the authorities, will supply water to Mezhgoran, Peshtan and a tourist resort that is being built near the Vjosa river.
They claim that the project, which has not received the approval of the residents, will harm the water resources of the village to meet the needs of a private business. The village with about 300 inhabitants, located at an altitude of 730 m above sea level, lives mainly with livestock.
The residents have built a primitive network of pipes to supply water to their homes, but at the same time they use the spring water to irrigate the land and meet the needs of about 2,500 cattle.
Yesterday they blocked the national road near the Peshtani bridge by physically clashing with the police, while today the intervention of about 70 police forces was needed to guarantee the start of the works.
“They are taking our water without asking us at all. They want to relocate the village. We asked them to build the road, not the water supply. The village controls the water itself as it can, with its own investments, the source has not enough water for us, not to supply tourist resorts”, says a protesting resident.
“The village lives with livestock. Where will the cattle drink? We have 2500 sheep and goats besides cows. How did they think that we will live without water? No one agrees. The spring dries up completely in the summer and we cannot fulfill our needs. We will not allow you”, says another.
“They want to take away our water and tell us how to live. We have not seen any project, we have not been asked any opinion. We don’t know what to do, we just want a solution”, says a resident.
Officially, the municipality of Tepelena through its head Tërmet Peçi informs that the water supply project “does not affect the water resources of the area but guarantees the best management of it”.
The project approved in July 2020 envisages receiving water from the streams of Mezhgoran in the amount of 1.94 litre/sec, of which 1.02 l/sec will go to the village of Mezhgoran, 0.69 l/sec will go to for the village of Peshtan and 0.23 l/sec for the tourist resort.
However, residents say they are preparing for a legal battle and other protests over the works.
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