CHITA. May 24 (Interfax-AVN) - Over 80 apartment blocks owned by the Siberian military district have been left without gas due to overdue debts, the district's press service said on Monday.
"Mass gas cutoffs took place in Chita on May 7 and 8, the eve of Victory Day. As a result, over 7,000 families (about 20,000 people) were affected," a press service official told Interfax-Military News Agency.
State Duma member Viktor Voytenko, who was elected to the lower house of parliament from the region, has sent a request to the administration of the Chitaoblgaz JSO, protesting the methods of the company's work.
"In particular, the letter stresses that 40 to 70 percent of people living in the Defense Ministry's houses which have been cut off from gas supplies have lost the connection with the Defense Ministry, and many flats have been sold to other users. Most of the residents pay for the consumed gas on time, but they have become hostages to interdepartmental economic disputes," the official said.
According to him, Voytenko asked the Chitaoblgaz administration to resume gas supplies to the consumers immediately and restore their rights determined by the Russian legislation.
The Siberian military district command are doing their best in order to pay off their debts totaling RUB859,000 (USD29.630). In particular, they are trying to make local housing administrations pay off their debts.
"We are sure that debts will be coped with in the near future," the official noted.