Wheat Seedlings Worth 26,314 Manats

Baku / 23.04.20 / Turan: The Corona Virus epidemic that has befallen Azerbaijan has made serious adjustments to our lives, removing the massive celebration of national holidays from it. The first of these was the Novruz Holiday, on which state structures spent hundreds of thousands of budget funds annually.

The Administration of the State Historical and Architectural Reserve (ASHAR) has been preparing for the festival at the fortress gates of Icherisheher since the end of January, announcing an open tender. According to the Unified Portal of State Electronic Procurement, on February 28, Sintra-L LLC was announced the winner of the tender for organizing holiday events, which were to be held on March 19-29. The company estimated its work at 218 thousand manats ($ 128.2 thousand). But soon ASHAR Icherisheher announced the cancellation of Novruz’s traditional events “considering the recommendations of the Government’s Operational Headquarters on limiting cultural events during a pandemic.”

However, it turned out that ASHAR Icherisheher still paid Sintra-L LLC a certain amount. In the next message of the tender management committee dated April 22, it was noted that the company paid 26,314 manats ($ 15.4 thousand) for the purchase and installation of Semeni (wheat seedlings traditional for the Novruz Holiday celebrations – Ed.). Moreover, the relevant agreement between the parties was signed on March 2 - for the weekend that came after Sintra-L LLC became the winner of the tender.

In Baku, Novruz was also celebrated at the expense of the executive power of the city. According to the public procurement registry, the city authorities paid Elcom LLC 132,158 manats ($ 77.7 thousand) for the festive decoration of the selected territories of the capital.

Semeni (sprouted wheat) is an integral part of Novruz. On this feast, Semeni is the decoration of the table and home. --------08B--