Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich held in Perm a field meeting of the Government’s commission on disaster response in connection with the flooding of the Verknekamskoye mine of potassium-magnesium salts in Berezniki.
Opening the meeting, Arkady Dvorkovich expressed condolences to the family and friends of those killed when their building was badly damaged in Kungur, Perm Territory. Perm Territory Governor Viktor Basargin said he has approved an order to assist the residents of the building. Authorities are considering where to relocate residents of the hazardous building.
The meeting participants discussed the results of the monitoring following the man-made disaster. Minister of Natural Resources Sergei Donskoi said that the monitoring system includes six types of monitoring including daily monitoring of pits and other potentially dangerous zones. Arkady Dvorkovich issued an instruction to strengthen monitoring of the condition of buildings with the help of new technology at the disposal of the Ministry of Civil Defence, Emergencies and Disaster Relief.
In addition, the meeting participants discussed preparations of the programme for relocating residents from hazardous buildings in Berezniki. Arkady Dvorkovich urged against taking temporary decisions. “Even if the forecast says that nothing bad will happen there until 2020, you should not build anything there. You should not take risks.” Funding will come from the federal and territorial budgets, main employers and money that can be included in the programmes of infrastructure companies, Arkady Dvorkovich said.
The Governor added that on 23 May, the Perm Territory’s legislature adopted amendments to the Perm Territory budget providing for allocations of 2.5 billion roubles for the Berezniki relocation programme between 2013 and 2015. Arkady Dvorkovich said that the authorities should inform the population not only about the relocation programme and hazardous buildings, but also where not to build homes.
Ahead of the meeting, Arkady Dvorkovich and Governor Viktor Basargin visited Berezniki. They surveyed the town from the helicopter and then the pits on the railway tracks and on the territory of the Berezniki Mine Building Directorate. The Deputy Prime Minister and the Governor reviewed the potentially dangerous zone on the Reshetova Square.
They met with residents of the homes located in potentially dangerous zones. Arkady Dvorkovich said that it is necessary to develop a programme to relocate people to a new neighbourhood. “We'd like residents to be able to stay in Berezniki, so the new housing should be built in this area. I hope people will agree with this,” he said.
