Support measures for the victims of natural disasters are constantly monitored by the President. Vladimir Putin personally reminded the ministers of that. The first issue he addressed at his meeting with the Government were the Zabaikal wildfires.
Alexey Konopko with the details.
Vladimir Putin summons his ministers and administration several days after his trip to Zabaykalsky Krai. There, the President listened to the report of the Emergencies Minister. Today's meeting began with another Zinichev report. The situation requires constant monitoring.
Vladimir Putin: "Recently in Chita, we discussed the situation with wildfires in Zabaykalsky Krai. I would ask Mr. Zinichev to tell us how the work is progressing".
Eugeny Zinichev, Emergencies Minister: "Today, the Government has issued a resolution on financial assistance to wildfire victims in the amount of up to 50.3 million rubles ($780,000) including 4.2 million rubles ($65,000) to those who have been injured. They are offered the opportunity to either build new housing near their current residence or acquire ready-to-move-in housing elsewhere".
Transbaikalia and another 39 regions have a special anti-fire regime. In 11 of them, the fire damaged residential buildings. In total, about 8,000 hectares are on fire.
The ministers were summoned to the meeting several hours before the Victory Parade rehearsal. The President signed a decree to issue new payments to WWII veterans on May 9.
Vladimir Putin: "May 9th is coming up shortly. What about the veterans?"
Maxim Topilin, Minister of Labor and Social Security: "Starting this year, WWII veterans and those disabled in the war will be receiving a new annual payment of 10,000 rubles. The Pension Fund has forwarded the funds to the regions. We believe that by May 9, the money will be paid to the war veterans and those disabled in the war along with their retirement benefits".
Vladimir Putin: "Don't forget about those matters, keep an eye on them".
Not a single veteran of 74,000 will be left without their payment. The money's been allocated.
The budget is also ready for school holidays. Almost 60 billion rubles ($ 930 million) have been forwarded to the regions for summer camps.
Vladimir Putin: "Ms. Vasilyeva, how's the work progressing on children's summer activities?"
Olga Vasilyeva, Minister of Education: "We currently have 45,300 summer camps. They'll have to accommodate 5.8 million children, 200,000 more than last year".
The President notes that it's important to ensure that the kids are comfortable and safe at the camps. When it comes to road safety, the Head of State addresses Minister Kolokoltsev.
Vladimir Putin: "Last year we registered 17,622 hit-and-run accidents. Legislators have adopted amendments to the regulations. I would like to ask Mr. Kolokoltsev to comment on them".
Vladimir Kolokoltsev, Minister of the Interior: "Penalties for the most serious violations have been toughened. These include failure to give way to pedestrians and violations of child seat requirements. It is now against the law to leave small children in a car. And drivers will be held criminally responsible for repeated drinking and driving".
Those who flee the scene of the accident will be punished much more severely. Legally, they'll be considered as guilty as drunk drivers. After the report, the President clarifies the practical sense of the toughened measures because the main idea is to make the roads safe, not to punish everyone. Fewer people are now dying on the roads from 19 to 13 people out of 100,000. But it must be decreased by four times. The Government has plenty of work to do.
Alexey Konopko, Irina Vinogradova, and Anton Kasimovich Vesti.
