Dispute Over Cube Slide Damage in Chita's MZhK Park
A resident of Chita told a Chita.Ru correspondent that children broke several panels on a cube slide installed in the renovated MZhK Park. The city hall responded on 29 January that they would check the extent of the damage and decide what to do.
«About six panels were broken. Children were cramming in, two or three at a time. In one cube. They sat, listened to music, swore. Naturally, the panel couldn»t withstand it. The children just pushed them out with their bodies,« an eyewitness said.
The administration responded that they had not previously received information about the damage. City authorities will send a contractor to check and then decide on next steps. Most likely, vandals will be identified via cameras and held accountable.
Update: at 12:14, the administration reported the contractor had inspected the site — according to him, there is not a single breakage, and all openings are designed entrances and exits that match the object«s technical passport.
In mid-January, Chita resident Svetlana Khokhlova said her daughter suffered a spinal fracture while using this slide. The woman began searching for other victims to file a lawsuit. Clinics, hospitals, and schools told her other children had been injured. The deputy prosecutor of the Central District, responding to her appeal, stated the play equipment complies with the Eurasian Economic Union«s technical regulation »On the Safety of Equipment for Children«s Playgrounds» and has a conformity certificate. According to the agency, protective elements are not specified in the structure«s technical passport.
Alexander Zudilov, chairman of the city administration«s urban planning policy committee, said in response to an official editorial inquiry that no complaints about this slide had been received by the administration. He also clarified that the »MZhK Square« facility has not been transferred to the city treasury, and responsible parties for its maintenance, including small architectural forms, have not been designated.
The contract for the improvement of MZhK Square was awarded to the Chita-based company ARM-1, the sole bidder that submitted an application for the electronic auction. The contractor received 98.8 million rubles (approximately $1.1 million at current rates) for the work. The park«s concept can be viewed here. For a look at the actual park, see the Chita.Ru photo report.
According to the Chita.Ru news agency (registered by Roskomnadzor — media registration certificate IA No. FS 77-71394 dated 17 October 2017).
