Boiler house workers bring more wheelbarrows of coal, but heating in Pechenga still fails
The governor of Murmansk came on an unannounced inspection to the Pechenga district where local boiler houses fail to provide heating to military families.
Local officials in the municipality of Pechenga were on pins and needles as Murmansk Governor Andrei Chibis came to have a look at the situation in local heating.
Footage from the visit shows the governor visiting the boiler house in "19 Kilometre," one of the military settlements in the area. Chibis was shown around and talked with local officials.
At the same time, workers were seen bringing bring wheelbarrows of coal to the boiler house.
"I have come to have a look at the actual organisation of the work, what more is needed and what systematic issues that need to be resolved," Chibis said in a statement.
"Unfortunately, we have registered facts and received complaints from several houses in both Pechenga and 19 Kilometre about problems with the heating in apartments," he added.
He also pointed his finger against local authorities, saying that they "must act in a more operational way, improve communication with people and identify the problems in due time."
Heating in the three bases has been unstable through major parts of the winter.
As temperatures in the area have dropped below minus 30 °C, people have experienced freezing apartments. In Sputnik and Pechenga, two of the military bases in the district, families in December reported about inside temperatures of only about 10 °C. The same happened in early January.
The bases of Pechenga, 19 Kilometre and Sputnik are located only few kilometres from the border to Norway and Finland and serve respectively the 61st Naval Infantry Brigade and the 71st Guards Motorised Rifle Division. Both forces have hundreds of men fighting on occupied Ukrainian land as part of Russia's war of aggression.
The failed heating comes amid growing state investments in local infrastructure. According to Andrei Chibis, a total of 110 apartment buildings in the Pechenga district are undergoing major repairs. In addition, 196 apartments for military personnel in Pechenga and Luostari are undergoing renovations, he said.
During his visit to the district, Governor Chibis held a meeting with representatives of municipal authorities in a local library. Behind the back of the regional leader was a book on display that signalled a looming threat against the local officials. Its title was "The history of Murmansk's criminal investigation department through its people." Its author is a major in the regional police with long experience in cracking down on local law violators.
