Makhachkala hippotherapy centre closed because of authorities' pressure

It was decided to close the hippotherapy centre for children with disabilities due to authorities' demand to vacate a part of the site, which belongs to a specially protected area, the head of the centre has explained. There are no more such centres in Makhachkala, the children's parents have complained.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that in May this year, Asya Alieva, the head of the Centre for Hippotherapy and Developing Riding for Children with Disabilities, stated that the centre was under threat of closure due to the authorities' demands to vacate a part of the site belonging to the specially protected area – the Eltavsky Forest.

"On July 26, officials came from the Republic's Ministry of Labour and the city administration. They said that I should vacate the territory. They provided no documents, stating that I was there illegally and I had no right to keep animals there. I was just tired of fighting and gave up. I'm selling out my horses," Ms Alieva has stated.

About 70 children are treated at the Hippotherapy Centre; some of them are from low-income families and are trained for free. The centre received no state support; it worked exclusively on donations, Asya Alieva has concluded.

"There's no such centre near our home. We are so used to training here; the children were very happy ... Are there really so heartless people in the Mayoralty? The whole city is being built up illegally; and here they found fault with a piece of land," Zaira, one of the parents, was indignant.