A group of pensioners led by protest organizer Maia Laguta, the head of the public organization “Salvgardare”, resumed the protests in front of the Chisinau City Hall on January 11. They invoked that they did not receive the 70 lei in compensation for trips by public units of transport and protested against the annulment of the concessions on public utilities and introduction of compensations. For his part, Mayor of Chisinau Dorin Chirtoaca said the reforms in Chisinau will continue and only the socially underprivileged groups will receive compensations, Info-Prim Neo reports. The protesters chanted “Down with Chirtoaca!”, “Down with the City Council!”, and demanded that the Mayor of Chisinau stopped talking about European standards and started to implement them in Chisinau. “How did it happen that the pensioners remained without season tickets in January?” Maia Laguta asked. “The conductors started again to fight with the pensioners in buses and trolleybuses and treat them rudely. The old people are deprived of their constitutional right to travel by public means of transport free of charge. The mayor continues to speak about the European standards, but does nothing to implement them,” she said. Laguta also said that the City Hall does not inform the Chisinau residents about its decisions and the people don't know what's going on in the city. The pensioners complained that in January they did not get the 70 lei that they received monthly from the City Hall in compensation. “We defend our rights,” said protester Maria Corniescu. “We want that the previous concessions be reintroduced. I had worked as a sweeper for 35 years and I am entitled to the 70 lei for trips by public units of transport. But this month I did not get the compensation as they said the City Hall did not transfer the money.” The mayor said that the reforms in Chisinau will go on and that the socially deprived groups of people will receive the promised compensations. “For Chisinau to have public transport, water and heat, the reforms will be continued,” said Dorin Chirtoaca. “About 80,000 applications have been submitted to the Social Assistance Division and the people receive compensations monthly. Approximately 20,000 applicants ask for compensations for heat. We did not annul the concessions. We only changed the payment method.” According to the mayor, compensations will be paid only to the persons who need them, not to all the Chisinau inhabitants as until present. “The City Hall will not finance the Electric Transport Division, the Urban Bus Company and the heat supplier Termocom from the budget anymore. The money will be given to disadvantaged people so that they could pay their bills,” Chirtoaca said, stressing that the 2 billion lei transferred to these economic entities during the last 10 years could be used to purchase buses and trolleybuses. The City Hall plans to buy 90 new trolleybuses this summer. The mayor explained that the pensioners did not get the 70 lei at the start of this year as the state institutions did not work during the holidays. He said the money will start being transferred on Monday, January 11, and the pensioners will receive the compensations in the near future.