Kasakh residents block Ashtarak-Yerevan highway, demand bus service 

ArmInfo. Residents of Kasakh village organized a protest, blocking the Ashtarak-Yerevan road, demanding that the country's competent authorities not reduce the route of bus #59, which serves their community.

Kasakh residents recalled that bus #59 had been operating in their  village for two years and was an important element of the transport  infrastructure. In addition, according to them, the new route that  the authorities intend to launch is more expensive, which hits the  pockets of citizens, because socially vulnerable groups of people  live in Kasakh who are unable to bear this additional burden.

They noted that previously, village residents paid the same amount  for using this type of service as passengers in Yerevan - first 100  drams, and now 150 drams. However, with the transfer of the right to  service the route to the company "Multi Transport", local residents  are now forced to pay 200-250 drams, which does not suit them at all.

The protesters are outraged that because of the 200 meters, they will  be forced to overpay for their travel.  The residents of Kasakh noted  that for ten days they tried to resolve the issue peacefully, holding  meetings and discussions with representatives of the responsible  bodies. However, having not received a satisfactory answer, they were  forced to resort to more radical measures - blocking the road. As one  of the protesters noted, they decided to act in this way, since they  were unable to achieve the fulfillment of their demands by legal  means. 

On April 9, a meeting was held between residents of the villages of  Proshyan and Kasakh with government officials, at which the issue of  transport communication was discussed. After this meeting, the  residents of Proshyan reported that their problem was partially  resolved: bus # 25 will be preserved, but its route will change - it  will turn off at the former building of the Ministry of Defense and  return to Yerevan. The issue of the residents of Kasakh remained  unresolved, since the authorities decided to remove bus # 59 from the  route.