Time for children in Belovezhskaya Pushcha: is it finished?
Elena Tribuleva, "Vecherniy Brest" (The Evening Brest) newspaper, November 14, 2008
The result of preparation to the celebration
of the Belovezhskaya Pushcha's 600th
anniversary is that children lost their tourist base
The previous title is no more there and a new one is not created yet.
Next year the National Park "Belovezhskaya Pushcha" is celebrating the 600th anniversary since first nature. The plan of activities to prepare to this holiday was approved by The Council of Ministers and its realization will require 60 mrd Belarusian rumbles (currently around $28 million). The scope of works is huge, time is short, and interest of other people is not taken into account because of chaos. We are meanwhile speaking about children. This autumn they were deprived of the tourist base in the village of Dmitrovichi where regional center of tourism and local lore study was earlier. By our sources of information the builders who will construct new premises to the future 600th anniversary will live there.
Rumours have been spread from the spring that the wooden building in Dmitrovichi that was tourist base would be taken for the needs of the reserve. It was difficult to believe to this as the country school was used as a tourist base for 30 years and many efforts were put into the decorating and renovation during the last years. This tourist premises could locate 40 people for night. It was a nice place not only for local tourists but also not demanding people from far away. There is no more such a possibility. The regional tourist center was relocated to the Kamenyuki school but there is little space. At the New Year eve the tourists are planning to make a tournament in sport orientation on the ground known as "New Year games" on the local level. Last years the invited people were located inside the base. "Now only in the tents and on the floor of the school. No other alternative", says one of the main tourists of the Kamenets region Mikhail Makoed who has raised the national and world winners.
The Kamenets tourist school is considered strong not only in the region but also in the country. It is enough to say that three boys from the Kamenets were included district into the youth group of sport orientation this year. It is always considered that here it is one of the best ground and the best trainers. Now there is no any. By the result of the Kamenets District Executive Committee decision 10-15 "On the hand over of objects free of charge of estate to the property of the Republic of Belarus" the tourist base and the hospital in Dmitrivichi which was used lately as hostel for the builders were given to the other owner. It is understood that local authorities followed the instructions above from the Government. "You have to understand that the taken decision does not mean that we reject to support the children tourism", says the deputy head of the Kamenets District Executive Committee Nikolai Viotsik. "Our sportsmen are very strong and we appreciate it. We are carefully looking for some alternatives", he says.
To say the truth, the tourists are not glad to what they are offered. One of the variants is a school in the village of Novitskovichi (6 km from the main road to Pushcha). "It is not the best decision, most of the time tourist base will be empty, the tourists will not be happy to spend time to go 6 km for a night. For local children it is not close also," says the director of the Brest Region Center of Tourism and Excursions Gennadiy Dvorov. "It is a pity that tourist base is taken from children, it is difficult to believe that now the builders are living there", he says.
Now there is no time for children. We are having such an important anniversary next year that should be interesting to the national and world community. It has to be celebrated properly. By the time, who will take care of the tourists nobody knows.
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Translated by Anastasia Anokhina
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