Brestovitsa

For the past four years, residents of the picturesque village of Brestovitsa in Plovdiv have been grappling with a troubling issue: muddy water contaminated with manganese flowing from their taps. Despite ongoing efforts to address the problem, frustration levels are reaching a boiling point, leading to yet another round of protests.

Mayor of Rodopi Municipality Pavel Mihaylov declared a state of emergency due to the high levels of manganese in the drinking water in the village of Brestovitsa, BNR reported. The values of the chemical element in the water are at times above the permissible - with an authorised quantity of 50 mg/l, the manganese quantities in drinking water are more than 1,000 mg/l.

A video of a three-year-old girl who is seen smoking has caused a public outcry, prompting authorities to take action.

The footage shows the girl, but the voice of a woman could be heard behind the scenes talking in the Roma language.