Khojaly's Ballija, Badara welcome new group of displaced residents with key handover ceremony

Under the Great Return program, a new group of former internally displaced persons has settled in the villages of Ballija and Badara in Azerbaijan’s Khojaly district, receiving keys to their new apartments in a formal ceremony.

The event was attended by officials from the office of the Special Representative of the President in Khankandi, as well as in Aghdara and Khojaly districts, alongside representatives of the State Committee for Affairs of Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons, Caliber.Az reports per local media.

At this stage, nine families, comprising 38 individuals, have returned to Ballija, while 43 families, totaling 154 people, have moved into Badara.

With this latest round of relocations, the cumulative number of families who have resettled in Ballija has reached 237, representing 1,054 people, while Badara now hosts 43 families, or 154 residents.

Launched immediately after the Victory in the 44-day war of 2020, the Great Return program is a multifaceted effort to resettle over 1 million former internally displaced persons (IDPs) in their native lands by 2030. It encompasses reconstruction of housing, infrastructure, schools, hospitals, and utilities, with a focus on mine clearance and sustainable development.

By Vafa Guliyeva