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Russian government to prepare new development programme for Far East

The charity marathon was launched on Russia’s TV Channel One on Sunday morning

MOSCOW, September 29 (Itar-Tass) - A new development programme in being elaborated for Russia’s Far Eastern regions, Russian Deputy Prime Minister and presidential representative in the Far Eastern federal dirtsict Yuri Trutnev said on Sunday.

“Taking effort to eliminate the consequences of the floods, we are thinking about tomorrow,” he told TV Channel One, which organized Sunday’s nationwide “All Together” aid-raising action for people who lost their housing and property in the recent devastating floods in the Far East.

In his words, the Far East can and should develop dynamically. He promised to take measures to improve the economic conditions for people of the Far East to make them even better than they were before the floods. “We shall try to go upwards after the floods, not downwards,” he pledged. “We now ask the governors to allocate more lands than people used to have. New housing will be better than before.”

At the same time, he admitted that it would take time to remedy the situation completely. “There are things that will be restored for quite a time. For instance, it will take up to three years to regain soil fertility,” he added.

The charity marathon was launched on Russia’s TV Channel One on Sunday morning. Taking part in it are presenters of TV Channel One, musicians, movie stars and show business people, there are live transmissions from the cities and towns that have been affected by the flood, as well as from several studios and sites in Moscow. A concert will be given at Gorky Park within the framework of the charity marathon.

Anyone can join this action by sending an SMS message to a short number displayed on TV screen. The funds raised during the marathon will be transferred to people who lost their homes and property in the recent devastating floods.

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