Kichmay villagers demand to stop extracting gravel from the bed of Shakhe River in Sochi

Residents of the aul of Kichmay in the city of Sochi have held a spontaneous gathering, where they stated a danger of destruction of the ShakheRiver, because building materials are extracted from its bed. At the same time, the Arbitration Court of the KrasnodarTerritory began considering a lawsuit lodged by the "ZhD Stroyservis" Company against the Territorial Construction Department asking to invalidate the order to revoke the license on extraction of gravel from the ShakheRiver. This is stated in the press release of the NGO "Ecological Watch for Northern Caucasus", which arrived in the editorial board of the "Caucasian Knot".

The "Novaya Gazeta" reports that locals stated at their rally on June 21 that the river is their main aquifer artery; and its drying out would have tragic consequences; they demanded to immediately stop extracting gravel from the river.

Earlier, the above Construction Department issued an order to revoke the license on extracting gravel granted to the "ZhD Stroyservis"; however, the latter had challenged the order in court.

A preliminary hearing was held on June 25; and the consideration of the application of the "ZhD Stroyservis" on the merits is scheduled for August 17.

Activists of the initiative group of the auls Bolshoi and Maly Kichmay said that they would appoint round-the-clock watch on the banks of the river and would not let the equipment of the "ZhD Stroyservis" under no circumstances, the above ecologists' press release reports.