In Sochi, Board of Veterans speaks against demolition of polyclinic

The Board of Veterans of War, Labour, Armed Forces and Law Enforcement Bodies have spoken against demolition of Polyclinic No. 1 in Konstitutsii Street, which is servicing about one hundred thousand people living in the Central and Khosta Districts of Sochi. According to the administration of the polyclinic, no demolition is planned; the staff will just move to another building for the time of repairs.

Saulyak: relocation of polyclinic is a threat to life and health of Sochi residents

On July 4, more than fifty persons gathered for an extraordinary plenary session in the hall of the above Board of Veterans, which counts about 20,000 members. The session was opened by the Chairman of the City Board of Veterans Alexei Gorbunov.

"I received information that the polyclinic will be demolished; and the land plot will be transferred for building commercial high-rise buildings. It goes beyond all boundaries, and we must react to these actions of the authorities, as this demolition concerns each one of us," said Gorbunov.

"We've perceived the refusal to render medical services at Polyclinic No. 1 and information about its relocation to some unknown place as a threat to life and health of more than one hundred thousand Sochi residents," said Nadezhda Saulyak, the Chair of the Board of Veterans.

According to her story, when she learnt about the closure of the polyclinic, she tried to find the reason at the public health department of Sochi, where she was advised to contact the Chief Architect Oleg Sheveiko.

"Despite the fact that the Board of Veterans had sent a request about the fate of the polyclinic, we got no answer. Then it was decided to hold an extraordinary plenary session of veterans," said Ms Saulyak.

Ivankov: there will be no demolition

The extraordinary plenary session had invited the heads of the city administration and the polyclinic. However, the Mayor of Sochi Anatoly Pakhomov, and the above Chief Architect could not come. Instead, the session was attended by Alexander Ivankov, Deputy Director of the Municipal Budget Institutions of Sochi "Centre for Geographic Information Technologies", and Olga Vlondis, Deputy Chief Physician of polyclinic No. 1.

"There'll be no demolition; the polyclinic is temporarily moved into the building of the polyclinic in Pirogov Street for the time of repairs," said Mr Ivankov.

According to Olga Vlondis, the polyclinic will undergo capital repairs. "Only the administration of the polyclinic moves to Pirogov Street. All the wards will continue servicing patients as usual," she explained.

"The Sochi Committee for Architecture and City Planning Sochi has sanctioned placement of an office building in the land owned by the polyclinic"

According to the duly informed sources of the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent, the demolition of the existing polyclinic was coordinated, according to the documents, with the deputy mayor of Sochi P. Velichko, head of the department of city development programmes of the Administration of Sochi M. Shubaev, the chief architect Oleg Gusev, head of the department of public health of Sochi Yu. Mitin, Acting Chairman of the Committee on Property Management of Sochi A. Nikitin, and head of legal department A. Saurin.

According to documents, in the territory of 1622 square meters, instead of the existing polyclinic, it is planned to build a 22-storey dwelling house floors. In the public mini-park, intended for operation of the polyclinic, in the area of 1085 square meters, it is planned to build a 22-storey office block. The author of the project, which assumes demolition of the three-storey building of the polyclinic and erection of the 22-storey blocks, is V. Bobrov from the project organization LLC "AKB GEPAR", who acted under the order of the Investor Company - the LLC "Metropol-Sochi" owned by Samvel Elugyan.

"Board of Veterans intends to demand justification for destruction of a number of social objects"

The city officials who came to the plenum of veterans could not answer the latter's questions, namely: why the single cadastre of the polyclinic is currently divided into two separate cadastres? What was the purpose of the cosmetic repairs of the polyclinic held in 2011, which took away about one million of budget roubles, when the capital repairs had been scheduled for 2012? What were the grounds for signing - back in 2007 - of the investment agreement on demolition of the polyclinic and construction in its place of two 22-storey high-rise commercial buildings? Why hasn't this agreement been cancelled?

The resolution of the plenum session of the Board of Veterans runs: "We hereby express our distrust to the authorities and oblige them to consider the decision of the plenum as a demand to leave the polyclinic in the same place, since old people are unable - due to poor ecology and their physical weakness - getting in traffic jams to other districts for medical care."

Members of Sochi Branch of the Russian Union of Architects speak against the project

"The project is puzzling. The planning of offices and the polyclinic clearly indicates the structure of a dwelling house, which means that there will be no polyclinics after the construction. It is clear that for the period of construction of the new polyclinic, allegedly built into the dwelling houses, the existing polyclinics will operate no more," said Yuri Lvov, an architect and member of the Union of Architects.

According to architect Leonid Zvukov, the object is located in the flooding zone of the Sochi River. "We must keep in mind that two underground floors, intended by the project for parking, will be flooded. Since the flooding of the Sochi River is very fast, people will be caught by it; and it's absolutely unclear how they can escape," he explained.

However, according to K. Melnikov, the chair of the architectural section, the investor should be provided another place for the polyclinic and a permit should be given to build a commercial dwelling house in Konstitutsii Street. "This city will receive a medical institution, and the investor will get the place to build his house," said Melnikov.

"I'm no longer involved in implementing this contract," said Samvel Elugyan, the investor and director of LLC "Metropol-Sochi". He did not specify who his assignee in the contract is.

According to point 12.1 of the Investment Contract No. 032/109 of April, 20, 2007, which is not cancelled and is in force, "all the information and conditions of this contract, as well as agreements with third parties involved in the project, is considered confidential and shall not be disclosed."

Sorokina: they refused to make my ultrasound examination, because the polyclinic moves away

Meanwhile, patients of the polyclinic No. 1 report about refusals to render medical services. "On July 3, I asked for free medical care to pass an ultrasound examination of my kidneys. But I was told that the ultrasound lab does not work, because the polyclinic was moving out; and the doctor would not return here after vacations. Where would they move? It was not known. The receptionist advised me to undergo a paid ultrasound examination at some sanatorium. As far as I know the examination costs about 1000 roubles, while my pension is 5500 roubles. How can we get treatment and live with these prices?" asked Svetlana Sorokina, a resident of Sochi.

The "Caucasian Knot" correspondent received information that the polyclinic would move out at the reception office in Konstitutsii Street.