Svetlahorsk residents demanding over 7 mln BYN in compensation for damage to health and property

Thirty-seven residents of the Yakimava Slabada village have appealed to the Svetlahorsk district court with a demand for compensation of moral and material damage (7.4 mln) by Yury Kruk, director of the Pulp-and-Cardboard Plant. According to the lawsuit, the interested party here is the Chinese corporation AAT. “Chinese Engineering Corporation Samse ” built in a plant of bleached pulp in Svetlahorsk.

At the end of last year, the enterprise started commissioning, harmful chemical substances got into the air. They affected not only residents of Svetlahorsk, but also the entire region.

In a 13-page statement, plaintiffs substantiate their demands for damage compensation by the Chinese over violation of the country’s constitution (above all, the right to a favorable environment), the Civil Code and a number of normative acts of the Belarusian legislation.

Plaintiffs believe that the pollution of the river will affect their health, as after watering plants in the garden with such water in the summer, they will not be able to get environmentally friendly products.

Residents of the Yakimava Slabada also complain that they are depressed by the fact of their residence in the “zone of ecological catastrophe”, which forces them to leave for more clean places. However, they cannot sell their houses at adequate prices, since there are no people willing to buy housing in the village, so they will simply have to give up all their property.

People are going to sue directly the Chinese corporation “Samse”, “Bellesprombud” and a number of officials.

“We have already exhausted all mechanisms for protecting our rights. On our numerous appeals to various instances, we received a formal reply. Our goal, sums up one of the plaintiffs Tamara Kavalchuk, is international arbitration, if our demands and compensation payments are not satisfied. “

Larysa Shchyrakova, belsat.eu