"These obstacles are so thick you can't even drive a tank through them." Residents of an Altai village demand an end to gold mining and environmental destruction.
State Duma deputy Maria Prusakova met with residents of the village of Soloneshnoe, who have been demanding for several months that gold mining on the river be stopped and that the destruction of nature cease.
According to the deputy's Telegram channel, the meeting took place at the local library. So many residents showed up that there wasn't enough room for everyone, forcing many to stand in adjacent rooms. Not a single district official showed up.
"These obstacles are so thick you can't even drive a tank through them," one resident complained, describing the consequences of the prospectors' work.
The deputy promised to contact the Prosecutor General's Office and the Investigative Committee, demanding that they investigate the actions of district authorities and the legality of the permit issued to develop the coast.
In addition, she noted that gold mining companies pay virtually no taxes to the local budget.
Protests in the village of Soloneshnoe began Back in September, when a gold mining crew entered the local Anuy River, local authorities granted them 50 kilometers of bank for precious metal mining. The prospectors had already cut down trees three kilometers from the village, removed the topsoil, and altered the river's course. Now, a muddy sludge flows past Soloneshnoye, and drinking water levels in artesian wells have plummeted.
Residents are demanding that gold miners leave their land. Even an American citizen has joined the fight. Justas walker, who is developing his farm in the village and blogs under the nickname "the cheerful milkman." He addressed to their subscribers with a call to save nature - this is the only capital the village has.
"What do we have? Unspoiled nature, clean water, fresh air, and potential for some future tourism," he emphasized.
A tragic example of environmental destruction already exists: five years ago, the same gold mining company operated near the neighboring village of Topolinoye, leaving behind quarries with green-purple water and "lunar landscapes" where nothing grows to this day.
On November 15, residents of Soloneshnoye staged a people's meeting where they voted against the work of gold miners.
We remind you that in January of this year, the protest of residents of the village of Baimak in Bashkortostan, who also demanded an end to gold mining and the destruction of nature, outgrown into mass riots.