The dust accompanies children every day on their way to school, in the neighborhood of New Valias, in Kamez.

The dust debris that is accumulated from the road, has become a full-fledged health hazard and a daily challenge for the residents of this area for the past 2 months. Images captured around this neighborhood can only bring to mind views from a sand desert.

“On our way to school, cars pass by in a hurry and we can hardly breathe because of the smoke,” – says a local child.

Back in March, New Valias had started the construction of its new network of water supply canalizations. The company that undertook the construction process, has been given a 1-year deadline for the completion of this project.

Because of the dust, stores that are located close to the main road are forced to keep their shutters closed.

“Even though we keep both our doors and windows closed, look at all the dust. It’s like we’re living in a brick factory. When the dust raises off the ground, making it impossible to see the person standing right in front of you,” – said another resident of New Valias.

According to residents in the area, after the installation of pipelines and canalization, the contracting company didn’t care about maintaining the roads.

Euronews Albania contacted one of the contractors responsible for the canalizations. The administrator of 4-AM company declared that the roads, where the construction has been taking place, “undergo constant maintenance”.

However, in reality, his claims aren’t actually being put to practice.

Local authorities argue that the situation will be resolved as soon as work on canalizations is complete, therefore until an actual solution can be found, it seems that the dust will continue to encapsulate the roads and lungs of a neighborhood located only 12 km away from downtown Tirana.

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