On January 24, Vitebsk / Diana Kurilo - BELTA /. Utilities specialists from the Ulyanovsk region (Russian Federation) are studying the experience of the housing and communal services of Lepel district, the head of the housing and communal services department of the Lepel District Executive Committee, Nikolai Pshonka, told a BELTA correspondent. Russian colleagues asked to be acquainted with the heating system of apartment buildings, the operation of boiler houses using local fuels, management schemes for apartment buildings, the formation of service tariffs, and their cost. Ulyanovsk utilities specialists intended to study with particular attention the organisation of works on collection and disposal of solid household waste, improvement of adjacent territories, and capital repair of residential buildings. Following the results of the first day of familiarisation, the activities of the district's housing and communal services organisations received high praise from the guests. In their opinion, the provision of communal services by state organisations, rather than private management companies, as is the case in the Russian Federation, contributes to maintaining a high quality of services and the absence of unjustified tariff increases. The preservation of the housing stock and order on the adjacent territories also received positive feedback. In the settlement of Borovukha, Russian utilities specialists were interested in the organisation of the separate collection system for solid household waste. The visit of the Ulyanovsk delegation will conclude on January 25. According to media reports from the Ulyanovsk region, at a board meeting in the regional government a week ago, the main topic was the problems of housing and communal services, tariffs for communal services, and the increase in claims against management companies. The authorities of the Ulyanovsk region intend to increase control over utilities and tariff setting. -0-

BELTA