08 June 2013, 02:40
Armenia to pay 193,000 US dollars to hail-affected villagers
The Armenian government has decided to pay lump-sum compensations to socially vulnerable residents of 23 villages of the Armavir Region, who were most affected by hail.
The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that the hail, which fell on May 12, affected 46 rural communities, most of them in the Armavir Region; 22 of them completely lost their crops. The Armenian government has already decided to exempt these villagers from taxes and promised to compensate their losses with seeds.
The total amount of lump-sum payments makes 80 million drams, or about 193,000 US dollars. Each suffered family will be paid about 50,000 drams or 120 US dollars, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was informed by the press service of the government.
Let us note here that, in the opinion of the villagers of Mrgashat, Armavir Region, where the May 12 hail destroyed the harvest, the seeds granted by the authorities are not enough to compensate the losses and pay the outstanding loans. In its turn, the above press service has pointed out that the Central Bank is urging the commercial banks to delay the repayment of loans.
Author: Lilit Ovanisyan Source: CK correspondent