Lukashenko suggests apiculture, horse breeding and ecotourism for areas affected by Chernobyl disaster

MINSK. April 26 (Interfax) - Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has suggested apiculture, horse breeding and ecotourism be pursued and agriculture and timber processing be developed on the Belarusian territories affected by the Chernobyl nuclear disaster 36 years ago

"People are very interested in fishing, in trophy hunting. We do that, and we warn people. Security measures must be observed. It needs to be controlled to prevent people from travelling there uncontrolled. We have spoken about ecotourism, apiculture, horse breeding. As we see from practical experience, it can be done and it yields a good result," Lukashenko was quoted as saying by the presidential press service on Tuesday while listening to officials' report on the fulfilment of the orders to deal with the aftermath of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster.

A lot of time, more than 30 years, has passed, "we didn't abandon the huge territories of our country," he said. "People live in those cities, settlements. Moreover, they are working well, especially in agriculture," Lukashenko said.

He said he finds land melioration and involvement of land in agricultural turnover possible. "Little by little, where possible, without pressure, without driving people to those lands where it is now difficult to work," Lukashenko said, also pointing out forest restoration and timber processing.

April 26, 2022 is the 36th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster accident. The accident is regarded as the biggest accident in the history of nuclear energy, both in terms of casualties and people affected by its consequences and in terms of economic damage.

The Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant is located in Ukraine near the river Pripyat, 18 km from the city of Chernobyl, 16 km from the Belarusian border and 110 km from Kyiv. The Chernobyl nuclear accident happened on October 26, 1986. The explosion destroyed the 4th Power Unit and released a large amount of radioactive substances into the atmosphere. More than 600,000 people were involved in dealing with the accident's aftermath.

The Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant was closed for good on December 15, 2000. A 30-km exclusion zone was created around the plant.

The sixth state program to deal with the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant aftermath is now being implemented in Belarus. The total amount of funding is almost three billion Belarusian rubles. More than $19 billion has been provided for the previous five programs since 1990.