Yerevan, January 8 – Manuk Sukiasyan, head of the ‘My Armenia’ faction of the Yerevan City Council, has issued a scathing critique of the Yerevan City Hall, alleging that the municipality is failing to adequately address hazardous icy conditions on sidewalks and secondary roads, while simultaneously allocating significant resources to festive events.
City Hall Accused of Neglecting Public Safety
Sukiasyan’s comments, made in an interview with Pastinfo, highlight a growing public concern over the city’s preparedness for winter weather. According to Sukiasyan, while central streets are mostly passable due to some de-icing efforts, secondary roads and sidewalks remain treacherous, posing a significant risk to pedestrians.
“It is no news that every business entity is obliged to clear adjacent areas of snow and ice, and apartment building entrances and their adjacent areas are the responsibility of condominiums. Otherwise, they will be fined,” Sukiasyan stated. However, he expressed skepticism that the city authorities would actually impose fines, suggesting that the current uproar over icy conditions and reported injuries is being used to deflect criticism from the City Hall’s own shortcomings.
“I believe they will not go for fines. This agitation around icy sidewalks, the alerts about fractures, are merely an attempt to somehow mitigate the criticism and shift the arrows of blame away from themselves. It’s nothing more than an attempt to prevent the critical wave against their poor work,” Sukiasyan asserted.
Unseen Special Equipment and Misplaced Priorities
Sukiasyan further criticized the city authorities for importing special equipment for snow and ice removal, which, he claims, is rarely seen in operation on sidewalks. “Every time they import special equipment, they immediately photograph and announce it, but Yerevan residents do not see that equipment in use, at least not on the sidewalks, or only to a negligible extent,” he noted.
In stark contrast to the perceived negligence in maintaining public safety, Sukiasyan pointed to the city’s lavish spending on New Year celebrations. “Meanwhile, when it comes to expenses related to festivities, they are extravagant, they have no shortcomings, especially when they celebrate New Year’s Eve, drawing heart-shaped contours in the sky of the Square with Nikol Pashinyan’s favorite hearts, occupying the public,” he said.
He emphasized that while such celebrations are fleeting, the consequences of uncleared snow and ice persist. “That lasts for 1-2 days, then it passes, but people continue to bear the consequences of the snow. Once again, in a somewhat non-standard situation, it becomes clear that Yerevan is in a deep crisis of governance,” Sukiasyan concluded.
The criticism comes amidst reports of numerous incidents related to falls and injuries on icy surfaces across Yerevan, raising questions about the effectiveness of the city’s winter maintenance strategies.
Related Publications
- 11/27/2025: Manuk Sukiasyan: My car windows were broken for the second time.
- 10/09/2025: Sukiasyan: Tigran Avinyan allocated almost 200 million drams to various organizations in the last month and a half.
- 09/18/2025: Sukiasyan: You have brought the city budget’s revenue part to its knees; you have failed the city’s governance.
- 09/13/2025: Sukiasyan on red lines and traffic jams: “From morning to evening, there are widespread sound signals and curses directed at these authorities.”
- 09/09/2025: Sukiasyan: Every 45th resident of Yerevan has oncology because a one-year construction permit is easily turned into 3-4 years for money.
- 08/04/2025: Manuk Sukiasyan: Citizens will deliver a cold shower to the city authorities who made promises and have not fulfilled them to this day.
- 08/01/2025: Manuk Sukiasyan’s observation on removing one-time QR codes: “From the moment controllers start applying sanctions, the blow will return to them with a boomerang effect.”
- 05/29/2025: Manuk Sukiasyan raises alarm: Karmir Blur ancient site is under attack; an attempt is being made to separate Yerevan from its historical foundation, Urartu.
- 05/01/2025: Manuk Sukiasyan: “Republic” threatens to leave the coalition with the Civil Contract, as a result, the Civil Contract is forced to direct law enforcement on how to conduct the criminal case.
- 03/18/2025: Sukiasyan: You buy 10 million dollars worth of spare parts for new buses annually, is that normal? Does a MAN driver earn 700 thousand drams?
Source: pastinfo.am
