Didn't PM know that Yerevan Mayor was aware of planned explosion? (video)
NorTekh Shin, the contractor that used an explosion to demolish the Yerevan Printing House on Oct. 27, has been fined AMD 1 million for not following safety protocols. The company is also prohibited from doing business for two months. Armenian Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan seemed disgruntled yesterday. “Was the city aware of the explosion? The city did not know about it,” he said. The prime minster was angered by the fact that one of the structures in downtown Yerevan had been demolished via a controlled explosion. “This is not a testing ground or a military polygon,” an angered Karapetyan said in a meeting with officials. Though people complained that Armenia had lost one of its old structures the prime minister was obviously bothered by the fact that people had not been informed about the planned explosion in advance. “The contractor or the owner was to have informed the relevant bodies of this community that they were going to demolish the building via explosion. Therefore, we should understand how to penalize those responsible - both the contractor and officials – and apply the maximum penalty against them,” Karen Karapetyan said. In the video provided by the government one cannot see the reactions of the meeting participants after the PM’s speech and accusations. Were the community officials really unaware of the planned explosion? “The building of Yerevan Printing House located at 65 Hanrapetutyun Street will be demolished today, on October 27,” the information was posted on Shamshyan.com website before the explosion. The website said that the Traffic Police would stop traffic on Hanrapetutyun Street for an hour and a half in connection with the planned operation. The source also said that Yerevan Mayor Taron Margaryan visited the building before the explosion. Yesterday, Karen Karapetyan instructed Armen Yeritsyan, the Minister of Emergency Situations, to punish those responsible and his instruction was carried out today.
