A rally against the destruction of an arboretum for construction took place in Irkutsk.
Irkutsk activists protested against the felling of trees near Akademgorodok; at least 100 people attended the rally. Plans are underway to build a data processing center and additional laboratories for the Institute of Solar-Terrestrial Physics (ISTP) of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences (SB RAS) in the arboretum.
Valuable tree species grow in this area; some of the trees were planted by residents of Akademgorodok in the 1960s.
"The construction of a data processing center on this site is planned, with 100% clearing. With a simple stroke of a pen, the land was rezoned for specialized public development."- expressed one of the activists Petr Mekhonoshin.
Protests against the cutting down of green spaces are held regularly in almost every region, but few have succeeded in stopping the destruction of greenery and the reduction of urban green belts.
Administration of the Baikal Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences claimThat the land will be transferred to the state corporation DOM.RF. Not for development, but for transfer to the ownership of the Irkutsk Region, and later, the city of Irkutsk. This is allegedly necessary to continue the improvement work that ceased three years ago.
Last year, Irkutsk residents managed to protect a grove in Akademgorodok. Dormitories for young scientists were planned there, but after activist protests and the intervention of the Investigative Committee, the dormitories were relocated.
Photo: Daniil Konin / IrCity
