Penza, 26 April 2016. PenzaNews. Penza city is holding a series of events to honor the memories of the victims of the Chernobyl accident – the world’s biggest man-made catastrophe – on Tuesday, April 26, 30 days since the tragic incident.

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In a speech before the crowd that gathered on 8 Marta street by the monument honoring the victims of nuclear catastrophes, the regional government deputy chairman Vasily Trokhin reminded that the Chernobyl accident aftermath cleanup measures involved 2,000 people from the Penza region, including 700 from Penza city itself.

“Today, there are 1,206 people living in the Penza region who had participated in the Chernobyl cleanup; 388 of them have disabilities. We give our respect to the people who risked their lives to do all they can to negate the effect of the tragedy. May we never forget those who gave their lives for the sake of others,” he stressed.

The regional Legislative Assembly deputy chairman Alexander Yeremkin and the Penza city head Valery Savelyev also addressed Penza citizens on the day.

The most emotion speech at the event came from Anatoly Alexyutin, board chairman of the Penza branch of the “Chernobyl of Russia” union.

“Hundreds of thousands of lives broken by illnesses will forever serve as a reminder of how fragile and precious the lives are. The tragedy could have been very much worse, were it not for the bravery and selflessness of those who participated in the cleanup at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant,” he stressed.

Anatoly Alexyutin urged the authorities of all levels to pay more attention to the problems and needs of those who participated in the Chernobyl cleanup, placing particular emphasis on providing them with the necessary medication, housing, and tickets to health resorts.

According to Anatoly Alexyutin, the issues that had been urgent years ago rear their heads once again: in particular, among other things, those who had applied for free health resort tickets back in 2012 are receiving them only now.

The “Chernobyl of Russia” union will do all it can to resolve all the issues, he stressed.