Start of the heating season and promotions for pensioners: what events await Kazan residents this week

      More than 1.5 million people took part in the summer program in Kazan’s parks

      “All 876 social-sector facilities are ready for the start of heating”

      In Kazan today, September 29, the heating season has begun. Control authorities confirmed virtually full readiness for the heating period, said Iskander Giniyatullin, deputy head of the executive committee of the capital of Tatarstan. “As of today, all 876 social-sector facilities are ready for the start of heating, including 655 educational facilities and 110 healthcare facilities,” he said.

      Giniyatullin noted that last week the possibility of an early start to heating was announced. “And today 285 social institutions already have heat,” he emphasized.

      Feedback channels have been organized for residents to report current and emergency situations. In particular, citizens can submit an application through the “Open Kazan” system, where a special banner “Start of heating” is posted, as well as by phone at (843) 236-41-23.

      Applications can also be submitted via the mayor’s call center at (843) 222-7-222. The lines operate from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. At night, applications are accepted by an automated system.

      Rustem Gafarov, head of the Kazan executive committee, added that it will take some time — from two to three weeks — to fully tune the thermal regimes both for consumers and for heat-supplying organizations. “You understand that the start of heating is not a switch you flip and it becomes warm, but a whole process that needs to be adjusted. Therefore, during the heating start period, feedback from citizens is very important. I ask you to work intensively with all feedback channels. The number of heat-related appeals will now jump. It is important that all specialists responsible for starting the heating work with increased intensity, promptly responding to signals from residents, enterprises and institutions,” he said.

      Four organizations failed to prepare buildings for winter within the established deadline

      During the summer, heat-network companies reconstructed 33 km of heating and hot-water supply networks. Over the past three years, about 110 km of thermal networks have been repaired, which is more than 15% of the total length, Giniyatullin said.

      He added that Tatenergo continues construction of main heating pipeline No. 5 from Kazan CHP-1 to the Gorki boiler house. This year 940 meters of the route were built. “The heating pipeline will provide heat to almost 2 million square meters of housing being built in the area of Adelya Kutuya, Daurskaya and Rodiny streets, more than 30 social institutions and commercial organizations,” the deputy head of the Kazan executive committee noted.

      He also named organizations that lagged behind and failed to prepare their buildings for winter by the regulatory deadline of September 15. These included the condominium association “Batyrshina-28,” the housing construction cooperative “Zarya-31,” and the property owners’ associations “Fuchika 84” and “Adoratskogo.”

      “Flushing and pressure testing of the heating networks were not carried out on time, thermal insulation was not installed. Leaks and fissures in the pipes were detected late, and their elimination continued even over the past weekend. This indicates an irresponsible and negligent attitude of the heads of these organizations toward their duties,” Giniyatullin stated.

      According to him, information about these offending organizations has been forwarded to the State Housing Inspectorate and the prosecutor’s office for appropriate action.

      To date, overdue debt of major management organizations for supplied thermal energy to Tatenergo is absent, while debt to Kazenergo amounts to 12 million rubles. “In September it decreased by a third,” the deputy head of the executive committee reported.

      Fines provided for violating new rules on handling solid municipal waste

      In September, new rules for handling solid municipal waste, approved by a Government of the Russian Federation resolution, came into force. The changes were explained by Evgeny Chekashov, general director of the management company “Housing and Utility Enterprise.”

      “Prohibited from being stored in containers and at container sites are branches, mown grass, construction waste except for small amounts from current repairs, as well as batteries, lamps and medical waste,” he said.

      Fines for violations are established: for individuals — from 2,000 rubles, for legal entities — from 100,000 rubles. Police officers and the Ministry of Ecology of the Republic of Tatarstan will identify violations and draw up administrative offense reports.

      “The delivery of these wastes to MSW landfills is also prohibited. Therefore, an important task is to inform residents about legal disposal options,” Chekashov stressed.

      He specified that construction waste can be removed by ordering containers from licensed companies. In the private sector, plant waste is recommended to be composted or passed through a shredder. In apartment buildings, their removal is the responsibility of management companies or contractors. “Removal can also be ordered from a licensed company,” Chekashov noted.

      Car tires are accepted free of charge at specialized “Collection Points” at ul. Vasilychenko, 6 and ul. Rodiny, 45. Old tires are also accepted at some gas stations and tire-fitting shops.

      Hazardous waste (fluorescent and LED lamps, mercury thermometers, batteries) should be placed only in special orange containers installed around the city. “The current list is on the official website of the Kazan mayor’s office,” the managing company director said.

      Events dedicated to the International Day of Older Persons will take place in Kazan

      On October 1, the Decade of Older Persons will begin. For city residents of pension age, there will be charity campaigns, social and household support, and psychological assistance, said Irina Smirnova, head of the Social Policy Department of the executive committee apparatus of the capital of Tatarstan.

      “Doctors will organize comprehensive medical examinations of elderly patients in city polyclinics and will visit those who need home care. Medical institutions will also hold open days,” she said.

      Festive concerts dedicated to the International Day of Older Persons will be held in all districts of the city. In particular, such an event will take place on October 1 at the Saidas Cultural Center; on October 2 at the Lenin Cultural and Leisure Complex and the Chulpan Cultural Center; and on October 7 at the Moskovsky Cultural Center.

      District departments of home social services, as part of the campaigns “Apartment in Order” and “Fill the Social Pantry,” will help older people prepare for the winter. Municipal museums of Kazan will offer free admission to pensioners from October 1 to 10.

      From October 1 to 3, upon presentation of a pension certificate, elderly people can visit the Kazan zoo-botanical garden free of charge. And on September 30, the Psychological Assistance Center “Doverie” will hold an open day.

      On October 1, five city baths will be free for all elderly people: Bath No. 5 at ul. 1 Maya, 5; Bath No. 10 at ul. 2-ya Yugo-Zapadnaya, 30; the bath in the Levchenko settlement at ul. Yutazinskaya, 2; Bath No. 9 at ul. Centralno-Mariupolskaya, 49; and Bath No. 3 at ul. Bolshaya Krasnaya, 34/16.

      To use their services, it is necessary to present a passport and a pension certificate or a stamped certificate from the Pension Fund. “The certificate can be ordered in advance from the Pension Fund of the Republic of Tatarstan at the place of residence or by calling the hotline 8-800-100-00-01 to learn the details of obtaining the documents,” the head of the department clarified.

      In addition, on October 1 a job fair will be held at the Kazan Employment Center for the Kirovsky and Moskovsky districts, and an Employer Day will take place in the Sovetsky district. Job fairs will be organized on October 7 at the Vakhtovsky and Privolzhsky district offices, and on October 9 at the offices for the Aviastroitelny and Novo-Savinovsky districts.

      “Over 15 years the area of parks in the city has grown fivefold — by 500 hectares”

      The summer program in the city’s public spaces has concluded in Kazan, said Aigul Latypova, director of the Directorate of Parks and Squares of Kazan.

      According to her, from May to September more than 2.2 thousand events took place in the city’s parks, visited by about 1.5 million people. “This is a record result for Kazan’s parks,” she stressed.

      In addition, the area of improved parks has increased. Thus, on June 1 a children’s playground with the largest water play area in Tatarstan opened near the new Kamal Theatre. And on City and Republic Day a new stage of the boulevard on Serova Street was opened. It includes a community garden, a water playground for children, an eco-pavilion and other functional zones.

      “Currently the Directorate manages 38 parks. Over five years their number has increased by 13,” Latypova noted.

      She added that activity in public spaces does not stop. In the pavilions on park grounds, residents and communities will continue to hold classes for anyone interested. And soon the Directorate of Parks and Squares will announce the winter program.

      “Over 15 years the park area in the city has grown fivefold — by 500 hectares. The work we have carried out all these years is beginning to yield results,” Gafarov stated.

      At the same time, he expressed the wish that all websites announcing events in public spaces would operate on a one-stop principle. “We have many different sites; to understand where what is happening you need to visit each one. It is necessary that residents immediately receive information about sports, social and cultural projects,” emphasized the head of the Kazan executive committee.

      Photo: © Mikhail Zakharov / Tatar-inform