In Turkmenistan, several families whose houses were demolished in the Bezmeinsky etrap of Ashgabat were given the opportunity by the government to purchase housing in Arkadag on preferential mortgage terms. People couldn’t even imagine what they would get for the extra money. When residents received the keys, they discovered that the water supply and sewerage pipes in their houses were not installed at all.
Radio Azatlyk correspondents reported this with reference to information from one of the new homeowners in Arkadag.
According to an anonymous source, apartments in Arkadag were provided to approximately 20 families whose houses were demolished. People were assured that the apartments were ready for use. However, in fact, there are no water pipes in the apartments, that is, there are no communication pipes in the kitchens, bathrooms and toilets on the upper floors. The only exception is the first floor.
Having discovered the lack of running water, residents who moved to the upper floors of the high-rise buildings reported their complaints to the director of the Arkadag housing department. However, he was indignant and said:
“What kind of complaints are these after you have been provided with housing? Say thank you to the president for giving you apartments, but you’re freaking out,” said another resident who moved to Arkadag.
Having heard the answer from the director of the housing department of Arkadag, the residents who were allocated “square meters” on the upper floors began to lay water pipes from the basements to the new housing at their own expense. The amount of costs for this issue is up to 10 thousand manats per apartment.
Let us recall that the city of Arkadag, named after the father of the President of Turkmenistan, with a population of 70 thousand people, is located approximately 25 kilometers west of Ashgabat. The country’s authorities are positioning it as a “smart city”, but the houses are not completely ready for actual use by residents, the quality of construction is low, and the prices are very high. In order to somehow settle people there, the authorities began to resort to forced relocation: for example, forcing businessmen to buy “square meters” without fail or demolishing old houses, and moving residents into a new building with an additional payment. This happened to the residents of Bezmein. Months before the demolition, people were warned that they would be given new apartments instead of their homes being demolished. In April of this year, it turned out that the apartments he proposed were located in and people would have to buy housing by paying extra for the extra square meters using a preferential mortgage. Residents who could not pay the difference were left on the street.
