Photo: Russia
In one of the squares of Yekaterinburg, a single picket was held to defend the “round timber” on the Shirokaya River, which the city authorities donated for construction. It turned out that it was this forest that the same city authorities, headed by Mayor Orlov, swore to preserve a year ago. “Hittle” turned out.
On February 27, on the 1905 Square in Yekaterinburg, a single picket was held to defend the “roundwood” on the Shirokaya Rechka given for development. The reason for the picket was the issuance of a logging ticket for 900 cubic meters of timber in the city. According to Sergey Ekimov, the chairman of the 40th October NTC located near the forest, this logging ticket was personally signed by the head of the city, Alexei Orlov.
The organizers of the picket note that the construction company Zhelezno Yekaterinburg, which is part of the Zhelezno group of enterprises, received a positive expert opinion on the projects of the first three houses, which should be built on the territory of the forest beaten down. In total, the developer will build 166.1 thousand square meters. The project is already ready – in addition to the residential complex itself, they will build an educational center for future residents, which will include a school for 825 students and a kindergarten for 250 children.
True, Mayor Orlov himself promised residents at a gardening forum a little over a year ago that “no one will allow the destruction of forests.” Then it was only a matter of signing a decree on surveying the forest and building it with fifteen houses, as the activists said, this meant transforming a green space with 30 gardens into 15 eight-storey houses.
“This forest is actually our green fund. Here there are running animals, hedgehogs, squirrels, etc. People pick mushrooms and berries there. It is an entirely green fund. Now you have fully signed off on the demolition of this forest and approved its development with houses. I have a huge request to reconsider, because we are really going to stand under these tractors which will go to nurse and there will be thousands of us!”, warned one of the activists at the forum of Mayor Alexei Orlov. The latter, however, then reassured people and said:
“We are not talking at all about the demolition of the forest. Granted the right to draw up a draft plan. But when this project is already presented and if we are talking about cutting down the forest, well of course, we are already going to “tighten the brakes”. Here, no one will allow forests to be destroyed. – said Alexei Orlov.
It is, in fact, the mayor reassured the inhabitants, and in a quiet design, providing for the cutting and demolition of green areas, was continued.
It should be noted that we are a long way from the first town planning scandal, which grew strongly in Yekaterinburg after Alexei Orlov came to power. In principle, all the last years of the reign of the outgoing mayor are an endless stream of urban planning scandals of various topics and levels, from the demolition of the OKN to the probable facts of corruption among officials, which could contribute to the conclusion of CRT contracts with the “necessary firms” associated with the regional managers.
Thus, it is possible that this time the demolition of the forest near the Shirokaya Rechka is associated with the satisfaction of the personal interests of pressure groups in the office of the mayor of the city of Yekaterinburg.
