Kazakhstan to send note to Uzbekistan over Turkestan region flooding

AKIPRESS.COM - Vice Minister of Ecology, Geology and Natural Resources of Kazakhstan Sergei Gromov in an interview with Atameken Business said Kazakhstan is preparing a note for Uzbekistan in connection with the situation in Turkestan region. In the note, Kazakhstan may demand compensation of the caused damage, zakon.kz cited the Vice Minister as saying. The note will include the demands to provide a complete information on flooding and possible compensation of damage. Kazakhstan will also object to restoration of the Sardobe dam, since the dam was built without approval of official Nur-Sultan. As such, the site violates the UN international convention on protection of trans-boundary water courses, zakon.kz reported.
"The Foreign Ministry is preparing a note for the Foreign Ministry of Uzbekistan. We have the right to demand, we were affected. We insist that the dam is not restored at all, of if it is restored, than in smaller volume. The note will demand to provide a complete information on the incident, its implications and supposed measures, other dams," Gromov said.
After the burst of the Sardobe dam in Syrdarya region, the Uzbek side pledged not a drop of water will reach Kazakhstan, Gromov claimed. "On May 1, I had a conversation with the Deputy Water Resources Minister, who said the dam burst, but don't worry, not a single drop will reach Kazakhstan. Despite these assurances, we undertook actions and evacuated people. Local authorities were actively involved into the process. At first, Uzbekistan said 300 million cbm of water outflew, but the Ministry of Emergency Situations said yesteday around 500 million cbm of water were discharged. The water outflow stopped, but the water still reaches us," Gromov added.
On May 1, the Sardobe dam in Syrdarya region, which was built in 2017, burst. The heavy showers and windstorm were blamed for the accident. 276 sq km were flooded in the result, 76 sq km accounted for Kazakhstan. 10 settlements of Maktaaral district were flooded. Almost 32,000 people were evacuated. According to Turkestan region administration, 631 houses, almost 4,000 ha of agricultural fields were flooded.
Deputy Prime Minister Roman Sklyar is leading the governmental commission. The size of the caused damage is yet to be estimated.