Putin to inspect construction in wildfire-affected village

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin will on Monday visit the village of Verkhnyaya Vereya destroyed, by this summer`s wildfires, to inspect the construction of houses.

An unprecedented heat wave hit European Russia in summer, sparking wildfires and severe droughts in many regions. More than 50 people died in the fires, which destroyed over 3,000 homes.

Verkhnyaya Vereya in the Nizhny Novgorod Region on the Volga became the symbol of the calamity that hit some 20 Russian regions in the summer and fall. Over 300 houses were destroyed by fire in the village.

Now the village has been rebuilt.

Some 10.3 billion rubles ($334 mln) was allocated to the affected regions from the federal budget to deal with the consequences of the disaster.

Putin first visited Verkhnyaya Vereya in late July, right after the fire that destroyed the area.

The premier promised in September that the country would allocate 7.5 billion rubles ($249.2 million at current rates) in 2011 to rehabilitate forests and prevent wildfires.

sections: Politics, Society