17/05/2016
Welcome to Chernobyl
One more option not only to reduce expenditure for the maintenance of the Chernobyl zone, but also to bring it, for a start, to self-sufficiency level - tourism.
Excursions in an exclusion zone are officially resolved by the Ukrainian authorities since 2010. However, in 2011 a certain scandal over this subject ran high between the State Office of Public Prosecutor and the Ministry of emergency situations of that time. The security agency was categorically against tourist trips on the "dirty" territory, but the Ministry of Emergency Situations won fight. Since then the army of persons interested to visit the Chernobyl zone constantly grows. At first they were 2-3 thousand a year, and last year, according to the head of the State agency on management of an exclusion zone Vitaly Petruk, more than 15 thousand so-called visitors visited here - the term "tourist" cannot be used concerning the territory with radiation pollution.
All excursions are approved with the State Security Service of Ukraine, police, in each of groups there is a conductor controlling ex*****on of all rules of conduct in a zone. The local government has more problems with "stalkers" who try to get on this territory illegally.
All means from such "tourism", according to Petruk, are received not by agency, but the state enterprise "TcOTIS" (The center of organizational, technical and information support). "Money is spent according to the current legislation through tender and other procedures. Means go, including, for improvement of tourist infrastructure, - Petruk explained. - In case of the further growth of interest, we will offer private business that it improved these things and developed because the state on it has no means. But, of course, on condition of a safety observance of the terms".
Apparently, tourism in a zone of the CNPP - rather profitable case. For its expansion it was necessary only to deliver toilets, to cut off along roads trees - their branches scratch buses, to clean garbage and to organize a normal power supply. "the Chernobyl tourists" write everything about these shortcomings at different forums practically. But they write a thicket about indelible impressions and about desire to visit an exclusion zone once again:
"Arrived from Great Britain specially to visit Chernobyl and Pripyat. These places store in themselves a set of emotions - a grief, pleasure, having visited here, it is possible to understand everything, to endure the incident again. We were convinced how history and destiny of the whole city, the people, can depend on one moment … Tu the atmosphere which is present here not to express in words, stories and photos, it is worth visiting there".
Similar expressions in chats - weight. And it means that the Chernobyl zone is interesting, and it needs to be used.