Residents of an industrial town in northern Tajikistan are complaining about the lack of water. They say that until the time when the Adrasmon mineral processing plant was active, the living conditions here were good, but after it stopped working, the situation became more difficult.
“They give water once a week”
“We carry water from the street. The water does not come well since the spring. Whenever the tension rises, he comes to the streets and we take him away from there. We don’t have water any more,” says Malohat, a resident of Adrasmon.
Most of the residents of Adrasmon have been facing this problem for the past few years. More than 16,000 people live here, and most of them live in high-rise buildings. According to them, the burden of carrying water for residents of multi-story buildings is greater.
Kandiniso Karimova, a resident of Adrasmon town, said, “They give water once a week. Those who have a pump get the same time, if there is no pump, water does not reach even the first floor. On high floors, we suffer a lot to use the toilet and bathroom. We pay for water every month. From 5 to 7 somoni for each cubic meter. When we talk about the problem of lack of water, we hear in response that the pump is small or old.”
Authorities admit, but…
The town of Adrasmon was known for its largest mining enterprise in the past, and the people of the surrounding villages came and settled here for its good living and working conditions. However, it has been almost 10 years since the factory stopped working, and its influence has also reached people’s lives. Residents say that the authorities have been unable to solve their problems for years.
According to Mohnisa Yakubova, “the head of the community was changed four times. We have complained to all of them. Even if the others didn’t go, I went with my aunt and we did what we wanted. If there was a meeting in the community office, it was held with the participation of six people, we were not allowed, we sat behind the door. We need water, water, water…”
Officials of the irrigation department of the town acknowledge the existence of the problem and attribute it to technical problems. Abdufattoh Ummatov, the head of the Municipal and Housing Services Department of Adrasmon, says, “The problem of water shortage is due to the fact that water pumps and engines are old and unusable. Day by day it becomes difficult to use it.
Officials of communal and housing services say that they have turned to international organizations such as the Aqah Khan Fund to solve the problem and are waiting for an answer. Residents say that since it has become difficult to live with this problem, they are looking for other ways to solve it.
Abdulhamid Rahmonov, a resident of Adrasmon, said: “We calculated that 8 million Russian rubles are needed to solve the water problem. We consulted with entrepreneurs and immigrants. We collect the money and buy new pumps to supply the population with water.”
The lack of drinking water is not unique to the town of Adrasmon. Residents of several other villages and cities of Tajikistan also complain about this problem, and the authorities always say that they will solve the problem step by step. It is not clear how long such a gradual solution will last.
Source : Радио Озоди