Memorial is abandoned
There hasn't been any water flowing from the memorial fountain dedicated to young heroes of the Soviet Union for a long time and the inscriptions are almost illegible.
The memorial located at the Canyon of Zangu was built in 1949. Five of the memorial fountains dedicated to young heroes of the Soviet Union are for Armenian heroes and one of them was placed in memory of two-time hero of the USSR Nelson Stepanyan. One of the memorial fountains was renamed and dedicated to hero of the Karabakh war Monte Melkonian.
"I have been working here for nine years and never have I seen an employee from the municipality show any interest toward the memorial," says guard at the nearby café Sargis Grigoryan. "The owner of our café tried to restore the memorial fountain a couple of years ago. He put tubes which were stolen and joined them to the drinking water pipeline located on the other coast of Hrazdan river. Then, employees of the water service came and threatened to fine him if he didn't stop," says the guard.
He also said employees of Yerevan municipality paid a surprise visit a couple of days ago and made some measurements. This was followed by a visit by a representative of "Russian Friendship Association" who also made measurements and left. The guard supposes that the visits are probably linked to the 65th anniversary of the Great Victory.
"It doesn't matter if we're not in the Soviet Union anymore. The memorials must be preserved. Should we treat the heroes of our times the same way when they're gone?" said one citizen walking in the children's park.
"The municipality and the youth are to blame. They don't understand that the memorial is dedicated to heroes of the war. We should protect the memorials and not destroy them," said another elder citizen.
Head of the Department of Construction and Renovation at Yerevan municipality Frunz Basentsyan told "A1+" that the memorial has been in this condition for a couple of years. The municipality has created a new renovation project and will definitely implement restoration and renovation provided the funding.
"There are no specific timeframes for restoration. As far as money is concerned, we need approximately 10 million drams," added the department head.
