PETRIKOV DISTRICT, 27 August (BelTA) – Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko attended a solemn inauguration ceremony of Petrikov Mining and Processing Plant on 27 August. Representatives of the worker collective were also present during the ceremony. Aleksandr Lukashenko recalled how he once descended into a mine and what he felt back then, BelTA has learned.
Aleksandr Lukashenko recalled how he descended several hundred meters below the surface into a mine together with his youngest son Nikolai in the days of his presidential youth. The president examined a longwall (an underground digging site) back then.
Aleksandr Lukashenko said: “We went 600 meters below the surface, I was told. Took a ride. I rode some imported tractor to that harvester. I asked the usual question: ‘Who made it?' Not Belarusians. Today we travel on our own vehicles. In other words, we have been doing import substitution little by little. And my kid was quite small back then. There are pictures of it somewhere. They brought me to this harvester. He took my hand and was pulling me towards the longwall. I remember how a wise miner told me: ‘Aleksandr Grigoryevich, don't worry, let's go!' We sat down and looked around. I still have impressions. I remember how the roof above me was creaking. It is difficult to get accustomed to it, to stop fearing it and keep working! When all of it is creaking above your head.”
Back then Aleksandr Lukashenko asked an experienced miner whether the roof might cave in. “It could but unlikely,” he was told.
The president stressed that potash miners have given a lot to Belarus. Not only potash fertilizers. For instance, old mines are used for speleotherapy where people suffering from respiratory diseases are treated. “I've talked to people who have had this kind of treatment. They said the effect can easily last a year,” Aleksandr Lukashenko noted.
“In other words, miners have gifted a lot to Belarus. To say nothing of their aid for sport, healthcare, and other areas. This is why you are simply great people and I am immensely grateful to you!” he stressed.
