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Putin Slams Officials for Poor Performance over Floods
Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev attend a session of the State Council at the Kremlin in Moscow, July 17, 2012. REUTERS/Yuri Kochetkov/Pool
(RIA NOVOSTI) — Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke out on Tuesday against the poor performance of regional and federal officials in tackling the aftermath of the deadly floods that hit southern Russia on July 7. “I keep a close watch on everything that happens in the flood-hit regions…I must admit that I don’t consider the authorities’ work on tackling the consequences of the floods satisfactory,” Putin told a meeting with the members of the State Council. The president called on the authorities of all the levels, including local, regional and federal, to take responsibility for restoring the worst affected town of Krymsk where over 150 people had been killed. Putin, who visited the city on Sunday for the second time since the disaster, urged all the officials to “do the best on all levels to prevent similar tragedies in future.” The floods, which swept through three cities in southern Russia, including Krymsk, on July 7, killed 171 people and deluged 7,000 homes, causing massive damage to the gas, electricity and water supplies and road and rail links. Most of the deaths occurred in Krymsk. During his visit to Krymsk, Putin has ordered the local government to increase compensation for those who lost their property as a result of the floods from the current 150,000 rubles ($4,600) to 160,000 per person. Putin also ordered local officials to improve the distribution system for humanitarian aid in the city, after residents complained to him about problems with accessing aid supplies such as long queues and a lack of distribution centers. (*)
SOURCE : RIA NOVOSTI Posted Tuesday, July 17, 2012 |
