By Azernews

By Sabina Mammadli

Another group of Azerbaijani citizens was resettled to Zangilan’s Aghali village on September 7, Azernews reports per the State Committee for Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons.

According to the committee, another 12 families (63 people) resettled from the Zangilan refugee settlement, located in Masazir village of Absheron District, will now permanently live in the houses provided to them in a new village with modern infrastructure.

The families were selected mainly from among those who lived in the most difficult conditions in temporary settlements, taking into account the size of the residential areas provided for their resettlement. Among the resettled persons there are natives of Aghali-1, Aghali-2 and Aghali-3 villages.

The families expressed gratitude to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and the country's army for the liberation of their native lands from Armenian occupation, as well as for the conditions available on the scene. Further, they paid tribute to the memory of martyrs and wished recovery to the veterans.

According to the current legislation, former forced migrants can use the social protection measures established for them by the state for three years after their return to places of permanent residence.

Resettlement to Aghali village will be continued sequentially - based on the schedule for the commissioning of new residential areas to the state committee.

In total, there are more than 43,000 natives of Zangilan District, who were forced to leave their homes and flee to save their lives during the first Karabakh war. Over 90 percent of them have already expressed their desire to return to their native lands.

The country’s liberated territories are the first where smart city and smart village concepts are being implemented. The first pilot project of a smart village implemented covered Zangilan’s Aghali I, II, and III villages.

The first pilot project of the smart city and smart village in Azerbaijan is implemented mainly on five components - the housing sector, production sector, social services, smart agriculture, and alternative energy. Initially, 200 individual houses are constructed with the use of innovative building materials. The engineering communications and heating systems in the houses are also created on the basis of smart technologies.

Moreover, modern schools, kindergartens, clinics, and electronic control centers will be built in these villages, and tourism infrastructure will be formed. All residential houses, social facilities, administrative and catering buildings, and processing and production of agricultural products will be provided with alternative energy sources.