BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 11
By Ilkin Seyfaddini - Trend:
Uzbek Prime Minister Abdulla Aripov and Kazakh Prime Minister Askar Mamin have given a start to building of a new microdistrict in Kazakhstan’s Turkistan region, Trend reports citing the Uzbek media.
The microdistrict would make up for the consequences of a recent flood that occurred after a dam break.
On May 1, after a long rainy week a section of the earthen wall forming the Uzbek Sardoba Reservoir gave way. The reservoir was completed in 2017, after seven years of construction. The reservoir, 29 meters deep, was designed to hold 922 million cubic meters of water for irrigation of the surrounding agricultural lands in Sirdaryo and Jizzakh regions. The dam break and the following flood also impacted neighboring areas in Kazakhstan’s Turkistan region.
The Kazakh and Uzbek prime ministers inspected the flooded territories of the Kazakh Maktaaral district and visited the villages of Nurlyzhol, Orgebas and Firdausi of the Zhanazhol rural district, where they got acquainted with the ongoing work to eliminate the consequences of the flood.
More than 1,300 people and 220 vehicles are involved in emergency and rescue work, the official website of the Kazakh prime minister said. At the same time, the Uzbek side has provided more than 200 specialists and about 100 fire engines, excavators, tractors, water pumps and other technical equipment.
The PMs of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan met with residents of Myrzakent village, where a new micro-district will be built, sides familiarized with the plan for the construction.
In total, in Myrzakent village, it is planned to build individual residential houses, a school, a kindergarten, and a first-aid point for 500 families of the villages of Zhenis, Zhanaturmys and Dostyk affected by the flood. Construction will be carried out jointly by Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.
"Residents of Maktaaral district of Turkestan region affected by the flood will be fully provided with new or repaired housing. Each of them will receive 100,000 tenge ($235.9) from the budget of Kazakhstan, as well as sponsorship from Kazakh entrepreneurs," the message said.
Preliminary damage to agricultural producers as a result of the flood caused by the break of the Sardoba Reservoir dam was estimated by Kazakhstan, at 4.1 billion tenge ($9.5 million).
In general, agricultural lands in Maktaaral region were damaged by the total area of 7,639 hectares, the message said.
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