On Saturday, almost the entire district leadership gathered at the field "Ly Vozera" – this is the name of a 15-hectare plot located before the entrance to the village of Vyaliki Polsvizh. The main heroes of the event were three grandmothers-reapers and combine harvester crews. On this day, the official start of the harvesting campaign was given.
Nadzeya Paŭlaŭna Pałtarachanka, Anna Ivanoŭna Valadźko, and Jaŭhienija Paŭlaŭna Klapaŭshchak live in the village of Bor, Kamenski Selsoviet. No harvest-starting ceremony at their native agricultural enterprise OJSC "Chareyshchyna" is complete without these women. This year, they were invited to start the harvest for the entire district.
Soon, five combine harvesters from KUVSHGP "Lepel" arrived. The huge machines lined up like soldiers in formation, frozen at the edge of the field.
According to tradition, the reapers started the work first. Sharp sickles skillfully cut stalk after stalk, and hands accustomed to age-old peasant labour bound sheaves. The first sheaves were presented to the Chairman of the Lepel District Executive Committee Barys Jaŭfremau, the Chairman of the District Council of Deputies Mikalaj Miśur, and the Head of the District Agricultural Department Vasil Charadnik.
The благочинный of the Lepel district, Father Adam Kaljada, blessed both the combine operators and all those present for the creative work. A sincere prayer is an important aid in any good undertaking.
After that, artists from the ensemble "Hrymzoĺi" sang a few songs.
The lyrical part ended here, and the strenuous work began. The combine harvesters started their engines and moved one after another into the mass of ripe grain.
A fire engine was also on duty in the field, with driver Mikhail Misnik and firefighter Ihar Hryharenka on service. In total, the district emergency situations department plans for up to eight fire-fighting units to be on duty in the fields daily. This is a serious matter; its importance is highlighted by the fact that last year, during the harvesting campaign, the department's firefighters extinguished flames three times. In such an extreme situation, seconds decide everything, as statistics show that a combine harvester burns out completely in six to eight minutes.
The harvesting campaign has been launched. High yields!
Vasil MATYRKA.