Residents of Karachaevo-Cherkessia protest against construction of Zelenchuk hydroelectric power stations

More than 100 residents of Zelenchuk district, Karachaevo-Cherkessia, who are dissatisfied with the construction of a system of Zelenchuk hydroelectric stations, have blocked traffic today on the highway in the vicinity of the village Hussa-Kardonik.

The people demand compensation of moral and material damage in the amount of 500,000 roubles per each resident of Hussa-Kardonik, and free provision of gas and electric lines to the village as compensation of the negative effect which, in their opinion, is exerted by the construction.

"People claim that the explosion operations performed during the construction damaged their houses. They also allege that the heavy transport facilities used at the construction sites create vibrations which also destroy their houses. However, no wrecking has been registered so far," said the district administration representative.

In his turn, Eugeny Poliakov, deputy director general on legal issues of ОАО "Zelenchukskiye GES" states that no moral or material damage has been inflicted in the course of construction of the hydraulic structures, reports "Interfax."

For reference, the commissioning of the first stage of Zelenchuk hydroelectric stations in Karachaevo-Cherkessia has resulted in converting the flow of Big and Small Zelenchuk rivers to the Kuban River. Energy production has consumed more than 50% of the river flow, putting three districts of the republic on the edge of an environmental catastrophe. Fish dies in the shallow rivers, the ground water level has dropped. Local ecologists think that the diversion of rivers will inevitably result in the destruction of broad-leaved forests and agricultural land.

The construction of a system of Zelenchuk hydroelectric stations in Karachaevo-Cherkessia (which, apart from the Zelenchuk station, includes the Upper-Krasnogorsk and the Lower-Krasnogorsk hydroelectric stations) started in 1976, but was suspended due to lack of financing. In 1998, the OAO " Zelenchukskiye GES," a daughter company of RАО "ЕES Rossii," was founded for the construction and operation of the system of hydroelectric stations. The first block of the Zelenchuk station of 80 MW capacity was commissioned in 1999.

See earlier reports: "RАО "ЕES Rossii" has invested more than 925 million into the system of Zelenchuk hydroelectric stations."