IZHEVSK, September 13 (Itar-Tass) —— Families left homeless in the explosions at the 102nd army ammunition in Pugachyovo, Udmurtia, are being issued with housing certificates, regional construction, architecture and housing policy minister Sergei Shikalov told Itar-Tass on Tuesday.
In all, 113 housing certificates with the total value nearing 200 million rubles will be issued. The certificates are ready for 106 families as of now, he said.
The certificates give the homeless families the right to buy an apartment or a cottage. Families with three or more members will get 18 square meters of housing space per person, single persons will get 31 square meters of housing space, and couples will get 42 square meters to share.
The certificates may be used in any town of the republic. The homeless families do not have to stay in their former place of residence. More than 100 families said they wished to buy homes in Izhevsk, the capital city of the republic.
Meanwhile, the engineering infrastructure of the town harmed by the depot fire and explosions is being restored. A boiler house will be put into service by the heating season, and a kindergarten will open on October 1.
In all, eleven million rubles have been paid in compensations to the victims of the depot emergency in Udmurtia.
The emergency situation at the Defense Ministry ammunition depot started in the small morning hours of June 3. The fire spread onto 18 ammunition storages and about 150 buildings on the area of eight kilometers.
A total of 28,000 people were evacuated from residential areas, including the town of Agryz in Tatarstan. The evacuees started to return home on June 3. One hundred people were hurt, and 48 of them were taken to hospital. Fifteen patients had injuries and 33 suffered a stress. Two elderly people had lethal heart attacks.
The Emergency Situations Ministry said it would take up to five years to clean up the aftereffects of the accident.
The overall damage was estimated at 2 billion rubles.
The Izhevsk garrison unit of the Investigation Committee opened a criminal case on the charges of negligent handing of firearms and explosives.
A military funeral was given on June 17 to soldier Timur Miniakhmetov, who died in the fire and explosions at the ammunition depot.
The family said that the funeral was held by the Muslim tradition and the Defense Ministry covered the expenditures. They also said they had been promised further support from the military.
The military unit covered the funeral expenses, Udmurtia deputy military commissar Andrei Kukushkin said. The soldier’s family received a one-time allowance and would have a pension compensating for the loss of the breadwinner.
Miniakhmetov who disappeared in the explosions was found dead on June 16. According to the preliminary information, a mine fragment killed him. Sappers clearing the terrain from dud munitions found the body.