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20% OF GYUMRI RESIDENTS IS POOR
Story from Lragir.am News:
http://www.lragir.am/index.php/eng/0/society/view/28333
11:41 07/12/2012
24 years have passed since the 1988 earthquake but the number of
homeless people in the disaster area still continues growing.
The state has been unable to resolve this issue over the past 24
years. According to the head of the Gyumri-based Shirak Center NGO
Vahan Tumasyan, there are 3500 homeless families in Gyumri.
Families who lost their apartments in the result of the earthquake and
are now on the waiting list for compensation are 4270. In 2010 1056
apartments were provided, this year 1756 will be ready, next spring-
420. Still, after these efforts 1034 families will still have no place
to live. There are another 300-400 families in the rural areas of
Shirak Marz. 300-400 of the 1034 families have not been included in the
housing program due to lack of certain documents, says Vahan Tumasyan.
According to him, the government's criteria are too tough. There are
another 3500 families who are not registered anywhere and live in
temporary cottages. But this number keeps growing. There are a lot of
large families of 10-15 people who get a one or two-room apartment. 18
thousand people live in cottages and their future is vague. In other
words, 20% of Gyumri residents live in the street, says Vahan Tumasyan.
The government promises to finish reconstruction of the disaster
area in 2013 after which, they say, they will deal with the issue
of non-registered homeless people. According to official data, 50%
of Gyumree's population is poor, 5% is extremely poor.
According to Tumasyan, people have been affected by having to live in
temporary cottages for long years. They have psychological problems
which are harder to tackle than the consequences of the disaster.
The 1988 earthquake killed 25 thousand people mainly in Spitak and
Gyumree towns. 140 thousand people suffered losses, over 500 thousand
people were left homeless.
Story from Lragir.am News:
http://www.lragir.am/index.php/eng/0/society/view/28333
11:41 07/12/2012
24 years have passed since the 1988 earthquake but the number of
homeless people in the disaster area still continues growing.
The state has been unable to resolve this issue over the past 24
years. According to the head of the Gyumri-based Shirak Center NGO
Vahan Tumasyan, there are 3500 homeless families in Gyumri.
Families who lost their apartments in the result of the earthquake and
are now on the waiting list for compensation are 4270. In 2010 1056
apartments were provided, this year 1756 will be ready, next spring-
420. Still, after these efforts 1034 families will still have no place
to live. There are another 300-400 families in the rural areas of
Shirak Marz. 300-400 of the 1034 families have not been included in the
housing program due to lack of certain documents, says Vahan Tumasyan.
According to him, the government's criteria are too tough. There are
another 3500 families who are not registered anywhere and live in
temporary cottages. But this number keeps growing. There are a lot of
large families of 10-15 people who get a one or two-room apartment. 18
thousand people live in cottages and their future is vague. In other
words, 20% of Gyumri residents live in the street, says Vahan Tumasyan.
The government promises to finish reconstruction of the disaster
area in 2013 after which, they say, they will deal with the issue
of non-registered homeless people. According to official data, 50%
of Gyumree's population is poor, 5% is extremely poor.
According to Tumasyan, people have been affected by having to live in
temporary cottages for long years. They have psychological problems
which are harder to tackle than the consequences of the disaster.
The 1988 earthquake killed 25 thousand people mainly in Spitak and
Gyumree towns. 140 thousand people suffered losses, over 500 thousand
people were left homeless.