Lukashenka Orders Prypyats Floodplain To Be Cleared Of Overgrowth

Aliaksandr Lukashenka instructed that the necessary work be carried out in the Prypyats floodplain and that special equipment be developed for this purpose. He made the statement on Aug. 15 at the Call of Palessie festival.

According to Lukashenka, the Prypyats floodplain is of great value, but overgrowth is occurring across a significant area of the waterlogged land. He believes that floodplain areas need to be mowed regularly and cleared of shrubs.

“Yesterday we talked a lot about what to do with the floodplain. I often fly back and forth along the Prypyats and across it. It is almost 10 kilometers, 10 kilometers of waterlogged land [becoming overgrown]. An unacceptable waste for us when millions of people around the world are starving. I understand perfectly well, as a man of the land, that this floodplain is our future. And not only that of Belarusians, perhaps that of all Europe. The climate is becoming increasingly dry and hot, while we have such wealth.

Therefore, yesterday both the heads of organizations, and people of the land, and our farmer correctly said — the floodplain needs to be mowed. Even if we cannot collect the hay, as you have done so well and beautifully here, it needs to be mowed. Because, as they say, there will be jungles that our children will never even be able to reach,” Lukashenka said.

He noted that special equipment would be required to maintain the floodplain. Powerful high-energy tractors are not suitable for such work, while there are no longer enough people to perform the work manually.

“Yesterday, an instruction was given to create what we will call small-scale mechanization equipment for mowing these floodplains. To mow them the way I once mowed them with you (…). We ferried across this Prypyats and mowed the grass with scythes. We no longer have and never will have so many people. We need machinery. But powerful high-energy tractors are not suitable for mowing the floodplain, clearing shrubs and growing grass there. Special equipment is needed,” he stressed.

Lukashenka instructed that funding for the development of such equipment be included in the 2025-2030 development program for the districts of Palessie’s Prypyats. He said that additional funding would be provided from the budget if necessary.

“Therefore, Mikhail Ivanovich [Rusy, chairman of the Standing Commission on Legislation and State Building of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly, curator of the 2025-2030 Development Program for the Districts of Palessie’s Prypyats], we also need to provide for some small amount of funding for this equipment in our program. We will add money in the budget, but this equipment needs to be created, because we will build good settlements and dairy farms here — you understand this perfectly well. But there are few people, there is no equipment, and people will toil on these farms as they did before. We need to make people’s lives decent,” he said.

“We will concentrate, so that you understand, on agro-towns. This is very important for Palessie. In large villages. People no longer want to live in swamps and farmsteads. They think about their children. Children need to be educated, children must have everything they need. And this is possible only in large agro-towns, such as Lyaskovichi, where everything should be as it is in a city. And then people will not seek to flee from here. Although I would not say that this is the case yet, while God is here with you and people are not fleeing from here either to Minsk or to other major cities. But we need to think about the future. And the second Palessie Revival Program should lay at least the foundations for the future development of this region in this direction, as well as of all Belarus,” Lukashenka said.