"Dust and Noise All Day Long." How Villagers Live Near Construction Quarries

Kargaly Residents have contacted Orda.kz about the construction quarries, crushed stone, asphalt, and concrete plants operating in their village. The constant rumble, noise, and dust make people's lives unbearable and cause various illnesses. The quarries' boundaries are now in close proximity to their houses. An Orda.kz correspondent investigated the situation. 

As residents said, this problem has existed for many years and is getting worse yearly as the quarries operate day and night and constantly expand. The number of enterprises processing this raw material is increasing every year. 

Those who live on Jurunov Street, right next to the quarries, get the brunt of it all. 

In Soviet times, there was only one crushed stone plant in these areas, but now there are at least six. People fear that their houses and plots of land may slide into the quarry.

 Even if the operations were stopped, the quarries would continue crumbling over time. 

Local activists claim to have conducted an investigation. Supposedly, raw materials are now being mined at an impermissible depth. 

The proximity to such huge unfenced pits is dangerous for children and animals, say Kargaly residents. 

The villagers have reached out to the Akim and other authorities, yet no one has helped them. They, therefore, decided to contact journalists.

Quarry work is being carried out in a water protection zone, which directly violates the Republic of Kazakhstan's legislation. In Soviet times, there was one quarry, much smaller and far from the river. It has grown so much that the river flows right through it, and the water protection inspectorate could care less.

 Kargaly residents say everything is run by OMIR UZAK XXI CENTURY LLP.

While meeting with residents, an Orda.kz correspondent was told that the situation here is not so clear-cut and that not only the quarry owner is to blame. It is also alleged that local officials once gave away or sold plots for individual housing construction in the sanitary protection zone of construction quarries. 

Residents were not particularly worried about such a neighborhood until it became problematic. Therefore, local authorities try to avoid these quarrels. 

It is also possible that the residents of Jurunov Street's claims are legally unfounded since they settled in the sanitary protection zone.

Work in the water protection zone is still a violation that must be registered and remedied immediately. As a local activist noted, the river can spill over, becoming an environmental disaster. 

Original Author: Danil Utyupin