Residents of Almaty are actively discussing on social media photos and videos taken on the embankment along the Esentai River. Citizens complain about a rat infestation, reports the website infohub.kz.
Facebook user Saule Kobzhanova published a post expressing outrage over the spread of rodents. "Rats have overrun the Terrenkur (embankment) along the Esentai River! Who came up with the idea to catch the dogs with clips and cats that lived on the Terrenkur along the Esentai River, which we all fed?! While cats and dogs lived, rats left the Terrenkur. But now they run in huge numbers. Huge size. Brazen. Not afraid of people at all. They scurry everywhere: on paths, in aryks, in gabions, in the dam bowl, and on benches," the message reads.
The city's Department of Communal Infrastructure and Housing Inspection explained to a correspondent that in 2026, planned deratization measures were carried out in the metropolis in accordance with the approved schedule. They are aimed at preventing the spread of rodents and ensuring the sanitary and epidemiological well-being of the population.
Deratization is carried out in two stages: spring - from March 15 to April 30, 2026, and autumn - scheduled for September 15 to October 30, 2026. As part of the spring stage, treatment covered a total area of 47,330.1 hectares.
The department noted that riverbanks are a favorable environment for the life and reproduction of rodents. Therefore, after the planned spring stage, additional rodent control measures were carried out on the Terrenkur territory on June 10 and July 29, 2026. "Given that the last additional treatment was carried out on July 29, 2026, it is currently possible to observe isolated cases of rodents emerging from hiding places and their subsequent death due to the effects of previously placed rodenticide bait," the department clarified.
The department added that observing individual rodents after deratization does not indicate the ineffectiveness of the work carried out. "Deratization measures are carried out in accordance with the approved schedule, and if necessary, additional treatments of problem areas are carried out," the department stated.