The traditional dishes of the Glubokoye district – butter cake and rye bread – have been recognized as intangible cultural heritage of Belarus, as reported to a BELTA correspondent by Ekaterina Labuko, director of the Vitebsk Regional Methodological Center for Folk Art.

Enterprises of the Vitebsk region received more than Br1 billion in compensation for the collection of secondary resources in 2012, the head of the housing and communal services department of the Vitebsk regional executive committee, Yury Dyadelo, told a BELTA correspondent.

On July 20, 2013, the III Blueberry Festival "Chernika-2013" will be held in the agro-town of Zaozerye, Polotsk district. Blueberry picking will take place from 7:00 AM to 12:00 PM within the territories of Gomel, Voronichi, and Zaozerye rural councils. Traditional championships and festivals for berry and mushroom picking are the hallmark of the Polotsk district.

"There are at least three key points in the draft budget that, if fully approved, could become a pillar for further development of private initiative," the interlocutor believes. The developers of the draft budget proposed to increase several times the tax rate on unused property. "This will become an effective incentive for its involvement in circulation, including with the participation of small and medium-sized businesses," explained Nina Lukyanova.

The winners of the "Occupational Safety Through the Eyes of Children" drawing competition have been determined in the Vitebsk region, as reported to a BELTA correspondent by Oleg Bereznyak, Chief State Inspector of the Vitebsk Regional Department of the State Labor Inspectorate of the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection.

The proposal to create a rental or social apartment building in Vitebsk for refugees with equal financial participation from UNHCR and local authorities will be considered at the international organization level, reported Lyudmila Zaitseva, Deputy Head of the Employment Department of the Committee for Labor, Employment and Social Protection of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee.

On November 4, due to strong winds, emergency power outages occurred in 203 settlements in 4 districts of the Vitebsk region – Gluboksky, Vitebsky, Polotsky, and Orshansky.

The preparation of the graphic part of the general development plan of Vitebsk will be completed by the end of the year, and the entire package of documents and materials will be sent to Minsk for approval in early 2015, the chief architect of Vitebsk, Vitaly Dubik, told reporters during the opening of the exhibition "Look into the Future"

Vitebsk's investment program for 2014 has been approved in the amount of almost 146.1 billion rubles (or 6.5% of the city budget expenditures) and includes 58 facilities. Compared to 2013, the volume of capital investments has increased by more than a third.

On December 27, 2014, a "direct line" with the Head of the Housing and Communal Services Department of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee, Yuri Adamovich Dyadyolo, will be held.

According to her, the total area of the complex will be 14 thousand square meters. It will include a 7-story four-star hotel, a restaurant, tennis courts and fitness rooms, parking, an indoor water park, and a business center – everything necessary for the rest and work of business people. The project is planned to be launched by the end of this year, and opened by the end of 2011 – early 2012.

A ban on visiting forests has been introduced in all districts of the Vitebsk region since June 18, reported Marina Fando, press secretary of the regional department of the Ministry of Emergency Situations.

The region has held leading positions in this area of activity for five consecutive years. The awards ceremony took place in Minsk at the State Museum of the Great Patriotic War. As noted by the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the BRSM, Andrey Belyakov, it is symbolic that the best were honored precisely here, as student detachments from all over the country played an important role in the creation of the museum.

A direct telephone line with residents of the region will be held by the Chairman of the Vitebsk Regional Council of Deputies, Atyasov Alexander Egorovich (call tel. (8-0212) 20-42-60 from 9:00 to 12:00), as well as the leadership of the city and district executive committees of the region and the administrations of the districts of Vitebsk city.