A scandal has erupted in Uralsk over a five-story building constructed just meters from private plots. Residents fear for their homes and complain that their yards are now exposed to neighbors, reports infohub.kz.
According to locals, damage appeared in their houses during construction. Nurgul Amanbayeva worries that her home could collapse. She said it all began with the construction of the five-story building next door: first, heavy machinery made the walls shake, then excavation began, and suddenly the tiles in her bathroom cracked.
"They dug a pit where my house is, where the foundation stands. Now look—here in my bedroom and in the toilet, everywhere. That time there was heavy rain, so probably water is coming in here too. The tiles are breaking here," Nurgul Amanbayeva says.
The woman believes such a close construction project should never have been started. The new building is disturbing several families. People say they never expected a high-rise just meters from their homes.
"I personally texted with him on the phone. He said it would be a small building, with no windows facing our side. But it turned out the way it did. And I don't like it," Nadezhda Undakova says.
Now it is a full-fledged five-story apartment building looming over private yards. Living in full view of dozens of strangers, people say, is uncomfortable.
"We're at home, you know. We've lived like this all our lives and got used to walking around in casual clothes. But now it turns out five floors will be watching what we do. The whole view is like an aquarium: we're the fish," Dmitry Porodikov fumes.
People believe government agencies overlooked violations and went to court. There it emerged that the State Architectural and Construction Control (GASK) can send an unscheduled inspection to the site, but serious grounds are required.
"You need to contact GASK with supporting evidence. That is, the main complaint concerns fire setbacks and the number of floors. I want to say that to date, all necessary permitting procedures for this facility have been complied with," explains Magzhan Muratov, head of the GASK department for the West Kazakhstan Region.
Officials added that until July of this year they did not participate in the acceptance of buildings. Therefore, they only learned about actual compliance with norms, distances and other conditions after construction was completed. Now control has become stricter.