The decision was made today at a meeting of the operational group of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee. First, heat will come to preschool and school institutions, hospitals, medical and preventive institutions, and other social sphere facilities. In the coming days, the phased inclusion of heating will also begin in residential buildings, as a sharp cooling occurred in the region since September 29, and the average daily air temperature has been below 8 degrees Celsius for three days (the norm is five days). According to weather forecasters, it will remain the same throughout the first decade of October.

Taking into account January-March 2010, the overall growth rate of industrial production in small towns for the five-year period was 167.1% against the target of 158% for the same period. 18.9 thousand jobs were created against a plan of 16.4 thousand, and the number of small enterprises exceeds 1.3 thousand, which is more than double the target. At the same time, the number of people employed in the economy of small towns as of April 1 of the current year was 125.1 thousand against the target of 125.8 thousand by the end of 2010, and the unemployment rate exceeds the forecast by 0.1%.

There are 660 preschool institutions operating in the region, new kindergartens are opening, and proposals are being received regarding the need for their construction in rural areas, which may indicate an improvement in the demographic situation. In the upcoming academic year, 584 schools in the region are ready to receive students, including for the first time the school bell will ring in the new secondary school No. 46 for 930 students in Vitebsk. In total, in the region, the academic year will begin for more than 114.2 thousand children and adolescents, of whom more than 10.2 thousand are first-graders.