President calls for immediate implementation of anti-flood program in Chernivtsi region

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Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko, who visited flood-hit areas in Chernivtsi region on Monday, has called for elaboration of a regional anti-flood program.

He said he would task the government to draft a regional program on fight with floods, to create water level control facilities, start their construction and immediate financing. In his opinion, it would be possible to avoid accidents of such a scale with a rational and well-considered attitude to the nature.

He reminded that, despite Vyzhnytsia's national nature reserve status, its former administration conducted mass deforestation on the area. The President also added that water from Cheremosh would not cause such a great damage if river banks were duly reinforced.

Meanwhile, the best technologies provided for earthwork about eight years ago were almost all sold out by the then emergencies ministry heads.

Yushchenko also said the defense ministry is considering the question of returning an engineering battalion to Bukovyna.

Viktor Yushchenko summarized that a lot of lessons can be learned from the natural calamity in West Ukraine. One of them is the negative influence of the notorious human factor, the performance of people making profits on illegal cutting of woods and withdrawal of gravel from mountain river beds.

UKRINFORM