Over 300,000 people were involved in various sites across the Vitebsk region during the republican subbotnik (voluntary work day).
Over 300,000 people were involved in various sites across the Vitebsk region during the republican subbotnik (voluntary work day).
On this day, the head of the region, Nikolai Sherstnev, along with other regional and city officials, planted about 100 trees on Gagarin Street in Vitebsk.
Why was this street chosen? In mid-April, it marked 60 years since the first human space flight, accomplished by Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin. Three days after this historic event in Vitebsk, Surazhskaya Street was renamed in honour of the first cosmonaut. Another reason is that the improvement of Gagarin Street has become a landmark project for the regional centre. Its reconstruction began back in 2005, but after laying two kilometres of the main road, it was suspended for a long 15 years due to insufficient funding. Work on the site resumed after the President of the country, Alexander Lukashenko, visited Vitebsk and participated in the opening of the Polotsk overpass. As the reconstruction of the overpass cost significantly less than the planned amount, the saved funds, by order of the head of state, were allocated for the further development of Vitebsk's road transport infrastructure, including the refurbishment of Gagarin Street.
Before commencing the planting of greenery at the former tram turnaround at the end of Gagarin Street, Mikhail Meshko, Director of the State Enterprise "Vitebsk City Capital Construction Department," reported on the progress of work at the landmark site.
– Large-scale reconstruction works began as early as July last year. Currently, the third, fourth, and fifth stages are being reconstructed simultaneously on Gagarin Street. The general contractor is Trust No. 9, with 10 subcontractors involved, 200 people working, and 80 units of equipment. Work is carried out without days off, in two shifts, but a lot of time was lost in winter. To be ready for the "Slavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk" festival, round-the-clock operation needs to be organized, – emphasized Mikhail Meshko. – The complexity of the facility lies in the fact that the street is intertwined with numerous utilities that had to be dismantled and replaced – sewerage, water, gas, electricity supply, outdoor lighting, traffic light control systems, and storm sewers with the construction of four treatment facilities. Moreover, they will also cover wastewater from other facilities located on the street. It is sufficient to say that 40 km of heating supply networks and 6 km each of sewerage and water supply networks, among others, have been relaid. The plan includes the construction of a new traffic lane and the reconstruction of the existing one with asphalt concrete pavement, a dividing green zone, and the organization of three-lane traffic in both directions. This is no longer a street, but an avenue.
Furthermore, at the beginning of Gagarin Street, a turning loop for trams and a trolleybus contact network will be constructed on the section from Lyudnikova Street to School No. 5. This is for future development.
Nikolai Sherstnev thanked the builders who completed a large volume of work in a short period and plan to commission the facility by July, which is almost half the normative period. He expressed hope that with this progress, it is quite possible that funds will be saved.
– And then we will have every reason to ask the Head of State to leave them with us again for further development of the urban infrastructure, in particular, for connecting Frunze Avenue with Lazo Street or for completing the reconstruction of Tereshkova Street. However, it is too early to count our chickens before they hatch, as they say.
On the reconstruction of Gagarin Street, the builders have utilized 20 million rubles, with 39 million available. The main remaining works include laying asphalt, bringing the facades and foundations of houses and other structures into proper condition, and planting 1.5 thousand trees and shrubs in the adjacent area.
Nikolai Shertnev emphasized that every year the residents of the Vitebsk region show increasing enthusiasm during the republican subbotnik. They work at their workplaces, go out into courtyards to plant flowerbeds, tidy up the adjacent territories near organizations and institutions, plant greenery, improve military burial sites and other historical and cultural objects, the territories of settlements, and prepare children's health and sports and health camps for the summer season. This is a tradition that our citizens have adhered to for many decades, and which the younger generation gladly embraces, noted Nikolai Nikolaevich.
Incidentally, during the subbotnik, the older generation, together with the youth, participated in the improvement of the memorial complexes "Proryv" in Ushachi district, "Urochishche Peski" in Polotsk district, "Vishenki" in Chashniki district, the military burial site in the agro-town of Kopty, Vitebsk district, the Alley of Unity in Verkhnedvinsk, the park in Beshenkovichi dedicated to the Year of National Unity, and others.
50 percent of the funds earned during the republican subbotnik will be directed to the Ministry of Health to strengthen the material and technical base of medical institutions, including the purchase of equipment for providing planned and emergency medical care to the population, and partial financing of vaccine procurement against the infection caused by coronavirus COVID-19, in order to ensure the accessibility of vaccination for the population. Another 50% of the funds will remain at the disposal of the regional executive committees and the Minsk City Executive Committee and will be directed towards the repair, reconstruction, restoration, and preservation of historical and cultural values, memorial complexes, and sites of military glory from the Great Patriotic War.
Source: vitebsk-region.gov.by