Stolipinovo

Stolipinovo ( Bulg Столипиново ) is a district of the Bulgarian city of Plovdiv and with about 45,000 inhabitants, the largest Roma community in the Balkans. The area lies on the northeastern outskirts of Plovdiv on the south bank of the Maritsa.

Stolipinovo differs mainly by the fact that referred to the majority of residents to the Turkic-speaking, Muslim Horahane Roma also " Xoraxane Roma ", counts, while only about 5,000 inhabitants " Dassikane as novels -speaking, Christian Roma from other Roma neighborhoods in Bulgaria " call.

Since the end of the socialist era in 1989, there was little investment in infrastructure Stolipinowos. In conjunction with a rapid, mostly illegal building activity, this led to massive problems in the areas of electricity and water supply, sewage and waste disposal.

About Bulgaria addition Stolipinovo was known when it came in the spring of 2002 riots in Plovdiv after the local power company had the power for the whole quarter off completely. The reason of unpaid bills of a large part of the inhabitants in the amount of several million Lew were (1 Lew is about 0.50 euros ) indicated. This " clan liability " was condemned by many human rights organizations as illegal. After calming the situation in a district "compromise" was negotiated. Since then, at least at night Stolipinovo power. On 31 October 2006 the practice of the electricity supplier from the Plovdiv Regional Court was condemned as "discriminatory".

The supply of drinking water is also problematic, since most water pipes are verottet and the inhabitants are forced to tap into the water on the road from the fire hydrant. In most illegal buildings there is no water at all.

The drains in Stolipinovo is mostly rotten, illegal buildings are not connected to the sewage network. The waste water runs above ground from the houses to the sewer manholes in the main streets.