The Uzhgorod mayor Serghiy Ratushnyak dispossesses the whole neighbourhood “Chervenytsya” the recreation area

Now they began to deliver building materials on the football playground made by natives.

As they explained in the city council this recreation area, surrounded by the forest (near the hotel “Praha”), was not registered, so it was decided on the one of the sessions to give this area away for building. The city council assigned thirty ground areas for building private houses in the woodland. As Uzhgorod chief architect Olena Strichek told UA-Reporter.com one ground area is about 6 hundred square metres. Thus, the part of the forest will be cut out because forest edge in this area is not wide.

According to natives this area exposed to “hunting” not for the first time, but they managed to “defend” it till now. Still in the 60’s in the park in the Chervrnytsya area natives built recreation area themselves because the city council didn’t trouble about that. The first conflict for this area took place in the beginning of the 90’s. One of the firms specialized in forest plantation wanted to plant the whole forest edge there with trees. The compromise was achieved that time. But this year others want to take away this area. Now it is built on faster than the city council considers numerous bills of complaint. They call the actions of the city council “regular land splitting” and say that the council did all its best to capture the best territories. Firstly the lands of the cooperative “Magnoliya” – it was specialized in forest plantation – were taken away, then was the turn of the Uzhgorod Forestry.

It was decided four years ago on the session of the city council to issue the land for building. But the building began in March this year. The native Mykhailo Molchak was one of the first who “defended the” recreation area.

– we play football since 60’s on this ground, watch it ourselves, mow down the grass. Many Uzhgorod natives are playing here every Sunday. And now somebody wants to build up the only territory where men can do sports and women can play with their children – sais Mykhailo.

Another native of the neighbourhood Viktoria is also displeased by the building:

– I have two children, everybody here has two or three children, and this is the only place where children can play. There are no paved roads on “Chervenytsya”, no playgrounds, no communications, no service lines, building works are everywhere, greenery is very poor. It was the only place for playing, and they want to take it away from us.

Natives addressed their complaints to the Regional Administration, Uzhgorod Prosecutor's Office, city council, but all in vain. In the meantime the newly built road left the borders of the football ground, forest border is dig over. The Head of the Uzhgorod Dept. of Culture, Family, Youth and Sports Oleg Murtazin said that he never heard about the football playground in that area, and the first time he heard about the building there was from journalists. He also said that nobody coordinated the building with him. He also showed an interest and went there to watch the whole situation.

* you were the first who told me about the problems, and this is my fault. Unfortunately this property was not registered by the Dept. of Physical Culture and Sports because the transfer of the lands of the Forestry into our ownership was executed not so long ago, so it was impossible to register this area. There should be given a status to this recreation area, but not now, when the general development plan is ready and the road is laid. Now I can’t define the strategic meaning of this land area – assures Oleg Murtazin.

Oleg says that the chances to make this land a recreation area again are very low, because money are assigned and the building has began. But on his opinion the housing area cannot remain without the recreation place and sports ground so he will address the city chairman with this question. Unfortunately they didn’t show in the mayor's office the decision of that session when the ground areas were assigned. And one also can’t enter the site of the Uzhgorod mayor's office. It was closed on the beginning of the year, so the limpidity of the city council sessions decisions is hidden from the community and journalists.