19 August 2009, 17:00
In Krasnodar Territory, ecologists block construction of Adler-Krasnaya Polyana highway
Today, a group of activists of the Ecological Watch for Northern Caucasus from Sochi, Krasnodar, Maikop and Nizhni Novgorod have started their radical action to defend the law at construction of the combined highway Adler-Krasnaya Polyana.
Since early morning ecologists and local activists blocked the work of the employees of the LLC "Stroydor-A" in the territory of the third quarter of the Veselov Forestry of the Sochi National Park, near the "temporary bridge No. 4" across the Mzymta River. The activists came to the industrial base of the LLC "Stroydor-A", located near the bridge, where the workers finished their breakfast and "explained them that they would not work today, since felling is illegal."
"The statement of the participants of the action was disseminated among the workers. From a telephone conversation with the chief of works it became clear that he had no documents on the felling. He said: 'All the documents are at the DKRS-Sochi of the OJSC 'Russian Railways', which had ordered this felling'," said a source from the Ecological Watch for Northern Caucasus.
At the current moment, according to the data of the Ecological Watch, the place of the action is calm; both the activists and the workers are waiting for further events.
As reported by Suren Gazaryan, senior scientific collaborator of the Institute of Ecology of Mountain Territories of the Russian Academy of Science, in spite of the fact that the Prosecutor's Office, militia, "Rosprirodnadzor" (Federal Agency for Nature Supervision) and the State Company "Olympstroy" had been notified about the prepared protest of ecologists, as of 11 a.m. nobody had come to the site, where the protest action is held. Activists-ecologists are waiting for the documents authorizing the felling of rare tree species.
Author: Albina Astakhova Source: CK correspondent