Most of the snowplows owned by the Chisinau administration were bought over the Soviet period and can be used only to remove snow from streets not yet from sidewalks, the head of the Public Transport and Communications Division Veaceslav Tarna said in the January 24 meeting of City Hall officials, Info-Prim Neo reports. Veaceslav Tarna also said that a large part of the equipment dates from his youth. The oldest snowplow was made in 1983. The deicers and salt spreaders are also old. Thirteen such vehicles are in need of repair. The latest purchases of snow removal equipment made by the municipal authorities are several Kamaz vehicles bought in 2007. In the same meeting, Veaceslav Tarna said that 30 units of transport were involved in snow cleanup last Saturday and Sunday. There were spread 1,250 cubic meters of antiskid material. The cleanup services cope with the workload. “Compared with other European cities, Chisinau manages to efficiently clean the streets with the few vehicles it has,” Mayor General Dorin Chirtoaca said in this connection. He called again on the companies to get involved in snow cleanup and remove the snow from the areas in front of their head offices at least. Yesterday evening, Dorin Chirtoaca wanted to lend a hand to the road workers and drove a snowplow for a while without having a license for this type of transport. Thus, he faces a fine of 1,000 lei. In Monday''s meeting, Chisinau police chief Silviu Musuc said smilingly that the mayor will pay half of the sum if the fine is paid within the first 72 hours.