"Free current" to Kazanka! Today, journalists were shown how the work on clearing the rubble on the river is going
A press tour for journalists dedicated to the third stage of the Free Current environmental project was held in the Vysokogorsky district of the Republic of Tatarstan. Representatives of the press were shown how specialists were dismantling the rubble on the Kazanka River and told about the difficulties encountered in clearing the riverbed.
Alina Gizatullina, Head of the Water Resources Protection Department of the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of the Republic of Tatarstan, explained that in order to solve the problems of water pollution, the Ministry is implementing a comprehensive project "Improving the ecological condition of rivers and reservoirs of the Republic of Tatarstan." In 2022, the executor of the first stage of the work, the Tatarstan Branch of the Russian Geographical Society, conducted geographical studies in the catchment area of the Kazanka River and its tributaries of the first order.
"To continue the comprehensive work in 2023, the Ministry, together with the Russian Geographical Society, is implementing measures to eliminate tree blockages from the Kazanka water area within the framework of the Free Current project. Thanks to the support of Rustam Nurgalievich Minnikhanov, the Head of Tatarstan, regional financing in the amount of 5 million rubles was allocated for these purposes," the speaker noted. She added that tree blockages pose a threat to small vessels, disrupt the natural habitat of fish, become accumulators of household garbage and reduce the speed of the current, which leads to siltation of the watercourse.
For the previous two years, within the framework of the Free Current project:
- 55 rubble blocks from fallen trees that impede the free flow of the river have been dismantled;
- more than 800 bags of garbage were collected from the banks and riverbed of the Kazanka River;
- About 3,800 cubic meters of wood were extracted from the water.
These measures have significantly improved the hydrological characteristics of the river, contributing to its self-purification and the development of river tourism. All environmental campaigns are aimed at supporting the national project "Environmental well-being".
Andrey Agarkov, Deputy Chairman of the regional branch of the Russian Geographical Society, described in detail how the work is going at the current stage: "A team of 10 specialists is currently working in the Vysokogorsky district, who daily clear the river of old trees and debris. The blockages are large, we work almost seven days a week. In addition to the rubble, we also clean up the garbage. 40 three-hundred-liter bags of plastic have already been collected. At the same time, we use more durable bags to efficiently collect and dispose of waste. The Executive Committee of the Vysokogorsky district helps us in this."
He also added that work on the river is a complex and ongoing process: clearing is carried out both on newly selected sites and on previously cleared ones, because the river is constantly changing. At the moment, specialists are clearing a new section of the river near the settlement of Bimeri in the Vysokogorsky district, then they will go further and finally go downstream and check the areas that were cleared as part of the first 2 stages.
It should be noted that the Free Current project is becoming a practical support for the main objectives of the national Environmental Well-Being project and an experience for the ecological rehabilitation of small rivers not only in Tatarstan, but also in other regions of Russia.