Hunger strike in Zverevo suspended for negotiations with authorities

Residents of the city of Zverevo, Rostov Region, who run a hunger strike in disagreement with the growth of utility rates, have stopped their protest action for the time of negotiations with regional authorities.

Six retired miners went on an endless hunger strike on 19 February, demanding to review the rates for urban heating and water supply.

Officials from two regional ministries – of housing and utilities, and of energy, as well as employees of the regional tariff service came to Zverevo to negotiate with the hunger strikers. The protesters had expected the officials would present them with "all the data regarding formation of tariffs," the portal "161.ru" writes with reference to Valery Dyakonov, a hunger striker and a Zverevo Duma Deputy from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation (CPRF).

However, as noted by Dyakonov after the meeting, the officials brought "a lot of documents, but not the most important one." "We are waiting for concrete calculations of housing and utility tariffs in our city to see, where are such high figures come from," said Dyakonov.

According to his story, the above bureaucrats promised to bring the necessary documents tomorrow. "Then, we'll continue our negotiations. Meanwhile, the hunger strike is suspended, but not finished," the "South Region" quotes the Deputy as saying.