site.btaSilistra Residents Suffer from Loud Music Fest on Nearby Romanian Island

Residents of Silistra, on the Danube, suffer from loud noise coming from a Romanian island in the Danube for days on end every year. The source of the noise is a five-day annual music festival held on the island, which will feature more than 50 Romanian DJs from this year.

This year's festival was opened officially on Friday, however, the loud music had already been playing for days prior the opening. Bulgarians living near the riverbank complained that the levels of noise were causing them anxiety, stress and even headaches and insomnia. Some locals were forced to temporarily leave their homes, as they were unable to bear the noise.

The problem has been recurring mid-August for several years now. In 2021, teacher Ivan Zanov submitted alerts to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Silistra Municipality, the District Administration and the District Prosecutor's Offices, but no adequate response followed. Zanov believes that a solution can be found, if the institutions on both sides of the river cooperate. He is adamant that it is not right that the whole town should suffer for the entertainment of a handful of people on the island.

This year more than 100 residents of Silistra prepared a complaint to the regional governor Mincho Yordanov, requesting his help to "stop the abuse". Yordanov told BTA that he had been looking for ways to solve the problem even before the start of the festival.

He specified: "We have notified the Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Bulgaria, Mariya Gabriel, about the event taking place on the island. We have asked her to assist us and to ask the Romanian authorities to adjust the volume. We want the music to be stopped or turned down at least in the late hours of the day so that people can rest". Other people notified by Yordanov include Bulgaria's Honorary Consul to Romania Stefan Raichev and Stoyan Georgiev, who used to head the friendship group Bulgaria - Romania in Bulgaria's Parliament.

Silistra Mayor Julian Naydenov sent a letter to the Mayor of Constanta to ask for help and to point out that Bulgarian legislation forbids loud noises after 10 p.m.

There is no solution to the problem yet. This year's festival is expected to end on August 22.