30 December 2009, 22:20
Felling plane-trees suspended in Sochi
Residents of Sochi have promised to hold a protest actions if the felling of the trees separating apartment houses from the carriageway continues.
"We've stated at the meeting with the head that should felling of plane-trees continue, the whole Donskaya Street will go out and block the federal highway. Moreover, the reconstruction project of our street is under examination and was not adopted yet. We say: you have no right to approve the project without the population. The heads of the city and of the Tsentralny District promised not to do it," said Valentina Brinko, a resident of the Donskaya Street and a member of the initiative group for defending the trees.
In the meantime, according to Vladislav Funtyakov, deputy chair of the City Assembly of Sochi, "promises are heard everywhere that instead of one cutover tree ten young trees will be planted." However "now, when they considered the rules of land use and build-up, it became known that more than 8000 trees have been fell in the recent several years all over the city, and only some two thousand were planted instead," said Funtyakov and added that "it was quite possible to do without felling all the trees."
Moreover, according to his story, there will be simply no place along the carriageway for planting new trees instead the cut-off ones - already today here and there the road passes in the immediate proximity from foundations of apartment houses and hostels.
Author: Ivan Fadeev Source: CK correspondent