Prime Minister Orders Investigation Into Recent Wildfires

Kazakhstan's Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov has instructed government bodies to investigate recent wildfires in the Pavlodar and Abay regions, Orda.kz reports.

Speaking at a government meeting, Bektenov criticized local services' failure to follow established emergency procedures during the fires.

Employees of forestry agencies in the Abay region did not notify the Ministry of Emergency Situations, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Defense about the fire that had occurred. A similar situation occurred in the Pavlodar region,
 Bektenov stated at a government meeting.

He reminded officials that a specific response protocol had been developed for such emergencies, but added that:

The first wildfires this year showed that this algorithm was not followed.

He tasked the Ministry of Ecology, the Ministry of Emergency Situations, and the Ministry of Internal Affairs with investigating the failures and taking appropriate measures.

According to Ecology Minister Yerlan Nysanbayev, 25 forest fires have already occurred this year, burning over 4,400 hectares within the state forest fund.

Bektenov also addressed recent flooding in the Aqmola region, criticizing local authorities for serious oversights in flood prevention.

More than 100 homes were flooded after the Koluton River overflowed in early April.

In the village of Stary Koluton, cleaning, bank protection and dredging work on the river were carried out only on 3 kilometers, although the project provides for 11. As a result, houses were flooded. The water level was low, but this could have been avoided,
 the Prime Minister noted.

He said the city of Makinsk was similarly affected, blaming local authorities' inaction despite repeated flooding in the same areas each year.

It is obvious that the planning and implementation of flood control measures is of poor quality. This means that the measures taken in the Aqmola region are not effective enough,
 he emphasized.

The Prime Minister addressed regional Akim Marat Muratov directly, urging him to revise the flood response plan and assist affected residents.

Do all the work this year. Help people whose homes and plots were flooded,
 he added.

Original Author: Ilya Astakhov