Dozens of people gathered in the spa resort of Velingrad to demand the revocation of the concession for the mining of tungsten in immediate proximity to the town’s water catchment area.

The protesters are categorical that their demonstration is not political, and point out that the town has well-developed spa tourism. The organizers say that the concession contract has a revocation clause “in the event of riots”. For this reason the people from Velingrad say that their protest is the first step towards thwarting the investment intention.

Protests also took place in central Northern Bulgaria because the water supply to one of the villages there has been cut off, the BNR’s correspondent reports. People in the village of Karaisen, with a population of almost 1,000, only have running water for 1-2 hours in the evenings, and that in only one-third of the village. Because of the water crisis, the people from the village are demanding that a state of emergency be declared in Karaisen.