Up to 47 flights to carry food to Evenkia in November

Up to 47 flights will carry food to Evenkia in November, the press service of the Krasnoyarsk Territory government said, as cited by TASS, the Russian state news agency. Evenkia is a remote district in the north of the territory. If all 47 flights operate, that will be more than 1.5 times the previous level, but the announcement did not say what period the figure is compared with. The flights are meant to cover the food shortages that began when river shipping stopped.

Andrei Gayulsky, the head of Evenkia, said earlier that food and other cargo can no longer reach the district by river because the water level on the Podkamennaya Tunguska River has fallen. The village of Tura and the Ilimpeya settlements in Evenkiysky District have been placed on high alert. In Russia this is a regime one step below a declared state of emergency, and it puts local services on standby.

Some of the food travels on special flights paid for from the district budget. The announcement did not say how many of the planned flights fall into this category. The report also mentioned a criminal case for negligence. It gave no details, including whether the case concerns the supply problems. The source did not say when river deliveries will resume.