Video: Authorities cover snow with paint to hide signs of pollution

A video footage shows two people playing in the snow before they discover their hands have a white sticky substance like paint.

In an apparent bid for "white Christmas", Russian authorities in the coal-mining region of Kemerovo in Siberia tried to conceal effects of pollution by painting some of the snow in white. According to The Moscow Times report quoted by NDTV, local authorities have been accused of using white sticky paint to hide soot and ash laden snow.

A video footage shared by local media on Monday, shows two people playing in the snow before they discover their hands have a white sticky substance like paint. 'You can see the stains... It even sticks', one woman in the footage can be heard saying as she shows the substance on her fingers, according to a translation provided by The Moscow Times.
But the cover up drew flak from locals as well as the head of the town Dmitry Ivanov, who ordered the removal of the paint and reprimanded the officials responsible for it. Ivanov said in a statement on Wednesday, "I apologize to the townspeople whose New Year's mood was spoiled by this."
While, according to Prague Civil Society Centre "black snow" is common in Russia. The organization which promotes social change throughout Eastern Europe and Central Asia, stated on its website: 'Black snow caused by coal dust is a common phenomenon in Russia's Far East. It is having a devastating effect on both the environment and health of its inhabitants... The black coal dust combines with the falling snow and turns it black'.