Eid Travel Rush Causes Major Delays at Kazakhstan-Uzbekistan Border

On June 4, a massive build-up of vehicles was reported at the Kaplanbek automobile checkpoint in Kazakhstan’s Turkistan region, Orda.kz reports.

The State Revenue Committee explained that the congestion is due to a large number of citizens from neighboring countries returning home to celebrate Eid al-Adha.

To manage the surge, Kazakh and Uzbek authorities held discussions and agreed to boost the checkpoint’s processing capacity. Uzbekistan, in particular, stepped up its operations.

The neighboring side confirmed that it had taken additional measures to speed up border crossing and, in order to more efficient processing of vehicles, doubled the number of border and customs officers involved in inspection,the State Revenue Committee noted. 

As a reminder, a long queue stretching several kilometers has formed at the Kazakhstan-Uzbekistan border near Kaplanbek.

Some drivers say they’ve been waiting for over a day without being able to cross. Some claim unknown persons asked to pay between 5,000 and 15,000 rubles for expedited passage. 

Frustrated travelers are attempting to cross on foot or reroute through other checkpoints, though conditions remain difficult there as well.

Original Author: Artem Volkov