20 IDP families return to Talish village
The families, who will be resettled to Talish village in Tartar District under the first phase of the Great Return program, have left for their permanent residence.
A total of 20 IDP families (90 people), who lived in dire conditions in Baku, Barda, Tartar, Samux, and Goranboy districts, are returning to their ancestral homeland ahead of the Nowruz holiday.
The Azerbaijani government has completed the first stage of the restoration and construction work in Talish village. Azerigaz gas company built an 11.1-kmlong underground polyethylene gas pipeline to the village. At the meeting with the residents, who are being relocated to Talish village, houses were decided by toss, and contracts were also concluded between the employer and the employees on employment opportunities.
Armenians occupied the village for the second time in April 1994, after it was liberated in July 1992. On April 2, 2016, the strategic heights around the village of Talish were fully de-occupied from Armenians. The village was liberated from occupation on October 3, 2020.
On November 16, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev endorsed the "I State Program on the Great Return to Azerbaijan's Liberated Territories".
Under the state program, Azerbaijan has identified a number of grandiose goals as it envisages the resettlement of 34,500 families to the liberated territories by 2026. The relocation of families to houses to be built in stages is planned to be carried out in accordance with the scheduled restoration work.
Under the state program, the National Agency for Mine Clearance of Azerbaijani Territories is to clear 280,000 hectares of de-occupied territories from mines by 2026.
The agency will carry out this task jointly with the Interior, Defense, and Emergencies Ministries.
At the same time, 215,000 hectares of territories should be cleared of mines in 2022-2025.
Following the Action Plan, construction activities are to be carried out, irrigation water will be provided for 12,100 hectares of area in Gubadli and Zangilan Districts based on the design documentation for the Zabuxcay reservoir and the major pipelines extending from it.
Azerbaijan plans to build the gas distribution network in liberated Aghdam, Fuzuli, Shusha, Khojavand, Zangilan, Kalbajar, Lachin, Gubadli, Jabrayil, Tartar and Khojaly districts from 2022 through 2026 following the Action Plan.