Lake of discord: the Urals clashed in the “battle for the blue pearl”

The battle for the “blue pearl” of the Middle Urals – this is how the inhabitants of a small village in the Sverdlovsk region now call the confrontation with local officials who want to demolish the only embankment on Lake Tavatuy. It was built by a local entrepreneur, and allegedly it disrupted the ecosystem of the reservoir. However, the claims against the businessman, in the opinion of our correspondent Artem Yakovenko, are more reminiscent of a confrontation between competitors.

Disputes over Lake Tavatui

With raised voices, residents find out what should be on Lake Tavatui: a beautiful equipped shore or a neglected embankment. It would seem that the choice is obvious, but opponents of the improvement claim that changes in the nature protection zone have affected the quality of life in the village.

“There is always a puddle that didn’t exist, now everything goes under the houses, it floods our houses, the water used to go away, now it doesn’t go away”the residents of the village complain.

Their opponents argue that the puddle was before the improvement, and no harm is done to the lake.

“Open beach, everyone is relaxing. This is the only place for young people. I will repeat this again, we will not just close this place and remove it”– say the defenders of the embankment.

“Finally, a place has appeared in the village where you can relax in a civilized way. We don’t have a club, we have nowhere to celebrate anniversaries and weddings for people,” – express the opinion of people who liked the equipped corner.

What’s wrong with the waterfront?

The embankment appeared in 2018, immediately became a favorite and the only place to relax. Businessman Eduard Odnoralenko was engaged in landscaping: he filled 650 squares with natural stone, laid paths, and planted bushes. But the shore improvement project was not approved. Now he is accused of capturing the coastal zone.

“We did not go into the water even a centimeter, granite is a natural stone. There were no concretes and strip foundations here and there cannot be in nature, that is, checks by the district administration were carried out repeatedly”says Edward.

Locals are sure that a wave of discontent was raised by Eduard’s direct competitor, businessman Ilya Popov. However, he claims that he protects the rights of the locals.

“At the time of filling this bank in 2019-20, residents began to resent, I, as a public person, took control of this situation,” says Ilya Popov, chairman of the board of the non-profit partnership of the village of Kalinovo.

Claims against the entrepreneur

However, the entrepreneur who improved the shore is supported by the local administration. The man leased the land and the municipality has no complaints about its use.

“The resolution of the chief state inspector of the Nevyansk city district of state land supervision dated February 17, 2022 states that the land plot is used for its intended purpose,” – added the head of the department of settlements of the Nevyanovsky urban district Oleg Sidorov.

But the environmental prosecutor’s office intervened in the case, which went to court. As a result, the businessman was ordered to eliminate traces of allegedly “illegal” improvement within a year.

“The owner of the land plot caused damage to water and biological resources, as well as a violation of environmental protection legislation, including water legislation”– explained the deputy of the Nizhny Tagil interdistrict environmental prosecutor Alexander Myagkov.

This decision does not suit Edward. The man is already preparing an appeal to the regional court.