A meeting of the operational headquarters of the Ministry of Forestry was held in the Lepel district to eliminate the consequences of natural disasters that damaged the forest fund

The State is ready to allocate additional machinery to regions for clearing windfallen forests, if necessary. This was stated by Deputy Prime Minister of Belarus Pyotr Parkhomchyk during an on-site headquarters of the Ministry of Forestry in the Lepel district.

"We have been engaged in eliminating the consequences prepared for us by nature for a week now. These are not the first such operations, as windfalls have occurred systematically over the past five to six years. We have already learned how to develop solutions to these issues. Today, this has affected the Vitebsk and Minsk regions. In the case of the Minsk region, the tasks are simpler because all areas where the forest has fallen are easily accessible. It is somewhat more complicated in the Vitebsk region. We flew over the Orsha district, closer to Smolensk, and there, of course, the soil is waterlogged, making it practically impossible to reach these areas and remove the fallen timber," he explained.

Regions have been tasked with clearing accessible areas as quickly as possible. As the Deputy Prime Minister clarified, by the end of October. "As for waterlogged areas, we will set goals and tasks taking into account natural conditions," added Pyotr Parkhomchyk. "If there are frosts in November (as has happened before), we will proceed with clearing operations in November."

Regions affected by the adverse weather conditions currently have sufficient resources. “Regarding personnel and equipment, I actively raised this question with the Minsk, Orsha, and Vitebsk regional departments (heads of the State Institution ‘Forest Protection and Forestry Management’ and their subdivisions). There is an adequate number of personnel and equipment. However, we are ready to provide additional machinery. ‘AMKODOR’ is successfully handling the assigned task, so we are prepared to deliver the required number of harvesters and forwarders in the shortest possible time to resolve this issue as quickly as possible or accelerate the resolution of the problems that have arisen,” the Deputy Prime Minister added.

Representatives of various departments and subdivisions at the field headquarters for eliminating the consequences of natural disasters in the Lepel district discussed how to clear windfalls and debris in the shortest possible time and process all accessible and remote areas. Specialists from the department have surveyed the plantings damaged by the adverse weather. Windfalls, debris, and plantings requiring sanitary clear-cutting have been recorded in almost every region of the country, with a total area of 4.5 thousand hectares. Forestry enterprises suffered the most in the Minsk and Vitebsk regions; for example, only in the Lepel Forestry Enterprise, 615 hectares were affected, and in the Borovliany Special Forestry Enterprise, 600.9 hectares. Currently, damaged plantings along roadside strips and settlements are being processed.

Regional subdivisions of the Ministry of Forestry are handling the processing of areas with plantings felled due to adverse weather conditions.

In response to the question of how regions are coping with the consequences of the natural disaster that struck the country, he offered praise. "Well done. We have been working under pressure for a week now, and the trouble was not limited to fallen trees. About 1,140 populated areas were left without electricity. We solved this task very quickly, within one and a half to two days. That is, everyone received electricity. However, this problem (fallen trees. - Ed.) is somewhat more complex, so, as planned, we will try to keep this work under control and, of course, complete it as quickly as possible," the Deputy Prime Minister noted.

Additional funds for clearing debris and plantations that require sanitary clear-cutting are not planned to be allocated yet. "They do not ask - modest people," commented Pyotr Parkhomchyk. "Wherever I go and ask what you need to solve the set task, they say that there is enough labor resources and equipment. They only ask for significantly more time than we require them to complete the set tasks."

Heavy rains and thunderstorms hit the region on August 6 and 7. The bad weather knocked down trees, power lines, damaged buildings and cars.

"BELTA"

Source: vitebsk-region.gov.by