Residents of Uralsk have raised the alarm over piles of garbage near the railway station that have become a haven for rats. Videos of rodents and illegal dumps published on social media caused a wide response, and city authorities had to comment on the situation, reports infohub.kz.
Citizens claim that despite repeated complaints about the garbage, apartment owners' cooperatives (KSCs), district police inspectors, and the city's housing and communal services department are not taking action.
"There is a children's playground not far from here. Dogs eat meat waste and bones here. That's where rats come from. In general, residents say that there are many rats in the city. If urgent measures are not taken, they could spread diseases," said activist Almagul Iksanova.
The Uralsk akimat reported that joint work is currently underway with the environmental police. After the exact address is established, the housing and communal services department will organize the cleaning of the territory.
"Work on cleaning garbage sites in the city is carried out daily. At the same time, the sanitary and epidemiological control service and other authorized institutions are considering the issue of taking measures to exterminate rats," the department said.
A similar situation has developed in the village of Michurinskoye in the Baiterek district, located near Uralsk. Local residents say that large dumps of household waste have formed on Komsomolskaya and Pridorozhnaya streets, where rats have appeared. Villagers also claim that the local akimat is not taking measures to address the problem.
The Baiterek district akimat explained that garbage accumulated due to the large amount of waste thrown out by residents. The department emphasized that a contract has been concluded for the removal of large volumes of garbage. The accumulated waste is planned to be removed within one to two days. The akimat also noted that, in general, garbage is removed as it accumulates.