Excavator "ploughed" the Central Beach of Sozopol to preserve the "priceless" pubs and cafes near the sea. By 9 pm last night, with lights out, he was still digging into the sand and stacking it into piles, outraged residents of the seaside town told bTV.

"The excavator has been working all night and managed to dig through a larger part of the beach strip. He stopped next to a dolphin thrown out by the waves," reporter Laura Stamatis explained on the scene.

  "I do not know if any Bulgarian citizen had come to see sand being snatched from the sea, what would have happened to him. We have not slept because of these people’s brazenness ", commented local resident Aspasia Porozhanova.

"Boyko Borissov and his people, are they aware of what they have allowed to do? If they're not, why don't they come and see what's being done and how they ruin the coast? The beach can't recover. That's what we're convinced of, we, all the residents of Sozopol who grew up here," said another of the anti-concessionaire protesters.

   "We want the beach to be managed by Sozopol Municipality," said one of the ladies who gathered this morning by the ploughed beach.

Two weeks ago, when the concessionaire started digging, locals came out in protest demanding that the construction stop, recalls Laura Stamatis. Then the company that manages the beach sent an alarming letter to the media that the coast reinforcement workers should not excavate sand, these activities are meant to protect the beach strip from the stormy sea and further explained that the right side the beach is already damaged by the waves.

 The municipality stated that there was no request submitted for any activity on the beach of Sozopol. Letters have been sent to the Ministry of Tourism, the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works, Water Management and Eco-Tourism Directorates and the concessionaire requesting all documents for the construction of sea walls. So far, there has been no response from any of the institutions.

The opinion of the Ministry of Tourism before last night's excavation of the beach is that there were established violations of contractual obligations - the construction of protective sand walls, for which sand from the flooded area of the sea was used. This is a violation on the part of the concessionaire who is obliged to protect the environment, flora and biodiversity. He has no right to allow the motor vehicles on the beach that can destroy, damage or lead to a change in the area and quality of the beach.

For the breach the concessionaire is fined with a penalty of 5% of the annual concession fee.

"It doesn't calm us down at all. Even if the penalty from the concession fee is 30%, it is all the same. It's obvious he doesn't care. The gentleman will gain territory at our expense and the millennial beach of Sozopol will be wiped out. Since this is not the first incidence, we want the concession to be revoked and given to Sozopol municipality. We will take care of the beach ourselves", said Aspasia Porozhanova.

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