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BISHKEK (TCA) — Kyrgyzstan’s capital Bishkek is gradually turning from one of the greenest cities of the former Soviet Union into a gassed and smoggy one. The public outrage intensifies in cold seasons, when a shroud of smog covers Bishkek, and subsides in spring. The Government and state agencies regularly make decisions to improve the environmental situation in the capital but it is getting worse every year. Continue reading
BISHKEK (TCA) — A new mayor of Kyrgyzstan’s capital, Bishkek, has been elected by the city council amid protests by civil activists. Continue reading
BISHKEK (TCA) — City council members of the Kyrgyz capital, Bishkek, decided unanimously to remove Mayor Albek Ibraimov in a no-confidence vote on July 13 while he was on vacation. The move came a week after Ibraimov’s deputy, Renat Makenov, was arrested on charges of abusing his power. In a video message on July 13, Ibraimov called the vote of no-confidence expressed by the City Council a political order, 24.kg information agency reported. The mayor said that he learned about the meeting of the capital’s council members too late, as he was on a three-day trip in the mountains. “The decision of the City Council is a political order,” he said. According to the Law on the Status of the Capital, in case of vote of no-confidence in the mayor of the capital city, Kyrgyzstan’s Prime Minister has the right to decide whether to dismiss the mayor or disagree with the decision of the city council, 24.kg reports. Ibraimov, who was Bishkek mayor since 2016, is a close ally of Kyrgyzstan's former President Almazbek Atambayev, RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service reports. Former prime ministers Jantoro Satybaldiev and Sapar Isakov, who served during Atambayev's tenure, were arrested last month in a corruption case. In April, President Sooronbai Jeenbekov fired several of Atambayev’s allies, including Prosecutor-General Indira Joldubaeva and the head of the State Committee for National Security, Abdil Segizbaev. The pressure put by authorities on Atambayev's allies is seen as evidence of a rift between Atambayev and Jeenbekov, an ex-prime minister who was tapped by Atambayev as his favored successor in Kyrgyzstan's October 2017 presidential election but has clashed with his former boss in recent months. Atambayev, who was limited to a single six-year term by the constitution, initially kept a low profile after leaving office in November. Following his election as head of the ruling Social Democratic Party of Kyrgyzstan on March 31, however, he has publicly criticized Jeenbekov.
BISHKEK (TCA) — Environmentalists are asking the President of Kyrgyzstan to declare 2019 the year of ecology. This was announced at the recent roundtable on air pollution problems in the capital Bishkek. Parliament members, representatives of the Achyk Asman (Clean Air) youth environmental movement, civil society, and the media took part in the discussions. It is encouraging that industrial production is developing in the country, mainly at small enterprises, but they often do not take into account environmental aspects. The State usually draws attention to the environment only when problems arise, Achyk Asman head Ermek Adylbekov said. Kyrgyzstan remains among the seldom countries in the world where nature is still relatively well preserved. It would be a big mistake of the Government and an irreparable loss for the nation if the environment deteriorates as a result of human negligence and mismanagement, MP Dastan Bekeshev said. Kyrgyzstan is an agrarian country. But even the development of agriculture leads to a deterioration of the ecological situation in the country. Incorrect cultivation of arable land, introduction of pesticides, outdated irrigation and drainage systems, which have not been updated since Soviet times – all this negatively affects the ecological situation in Kyrgyzstan, Bekeshev said. The MP also expressed outrage at the way the country uses clean water. "We mindlessly use drinking water spending it for washing cars and other things," he said. Cutting trees The Bishkek authorities are massively cutting trees, which leads to environmental degradation in the city, said the head of the Green Party movement Erkin Bulekbaev. In 2017, about three thousand trees were cut down for the expansion of roads, which caused discontent from environmentalists and local residents. Bishkek authorities explained that the firewood was given to poor families, as well as the felled trees were sold and the money has been spent for the city’s needs. Last year, 2,938 trees were felled in Bishkek, of which 840 trees were in emergency, the city administration clarified. However, residents and activists suspected city officials of corrupt sales of timber for their own benefit. Environmentalists believe that mass tree cutting will affect the ecology and health of Bishkek residents. According to the city administration, instead of cut down trees they planted more than 10,000 seedlings. However, most of those seedlings did not take root. No matter how many trees are planted, this will not change anything, because the problem is in the competence and professionalism of the city officials, well-known environmental scientist Emil Shukurov said. Landscapers kill the environment, primarily by their incompetence, he added. Many of the imported seedlings could not accommodate to local natural conditions, because they are designed for another environment, he explained. The trees bought by the city administration are dozens of times more expensive than local trees, so they cannot afford to landscape the whole city, but some specific areas only. All trees in the city grew out of ordinary seedlings. This means that previous landscapers knew how to grow them, while the current ones do not cope...
BISHKEK (TCA) — The French Alliance in Bishkek, jointly with the Embassies of Switzerland, France, Belgium, Canada, and the Delegation of the European Union in Kyrgyzstan announced the week of the Francophonie, which will be held from March 12 to 17 in Bishkek. Continue reading
BISHKEK (TCA) — Despite an expensive modernization, an accident occurred at the Bishkek thermal power plant last Friday. As a result, most of the city residents remained without heating when the air temperature outside was minus 20 degrees Celsius and below, including hospitals and schools. Schoolchildren are on an unplanned vacation until February 3. Bishkek Mayor Albek Ibraimov promised the citizens that all the malfunctions would be eliminated on Saturday by 10 pm, but the promises did not come true. People, trying to keep warm in cold apartments, used electric heaters and gas burners. The power grid overloaded and many homes suffered from blackouts. Daily electricity consumption in Kyrgyzstan reached a record high on January 29, amounting to 70.34 million kWh, the National Electric Network of Kyrgyzstan JSC which owns the Bishkek TPP reported. Over the past three days, natural gas consumption in Bishkek has increased by 40 percent. Only on January 30, Bishkek residents finally began to receive heat. On January 31, the temperature in the heating network has risen slightly. To warm up homes and apartments takes time, the National Energy Holding said. Not only journalists, but also city residents raised questions about the modernization of the Bishkek TPP, which the authorities announced among key elements of energy independence. "The completion of the project is among the achievements to improve the reliability of providing high-quality electricity and heat supply to Bishkek population," the National Energy Holding said last year. Accident at Bishkek Thermal Power Plant On January 26, the workload was reduced from 340 MW to 154 MW at the Bishkek TPP due to “the temporary failure of the feeding water supply equipment for old boiler units," the Electric Stations said. The accident started at the chemical workshop because of a malfunction of the pump supplying water to the boiler units. The pumps were included in the modernization project, but their reconstruction has not yet been carried out. Later, one of the boilers went out of operation, Bishkek TPP Director Omurkul uulu Nurlan said at a press conference on January 29. Ten boilers out of the existing 18 and five turbine units out of the nine existing ones are now operating, the TPP management said on January 30. On January 30, Deputy Prime Minister Askarbek Shadiev, who is in charge of the fuel and energy sector, on behalf of the Government apologized to the Bishkek residents for the inconvenience caused. The Prosecutor General's Office has initiated a criminal investigation on negligence charges and a government commission will investigate the causes of the power plant’s failure. Prime Minister Sapar Isakov recommended the National Energy Holding to fire First Deputy General Director of the Electric Stations JSC Berdibek Borkoyev and Bishkek TPP Director Omurkul uulu Nurlan. Parliament deputies demand to set up a commission to investigate the modernization of the Bishkek TPP by the Chinese company ТВЕА and the use of $386 million spent for the modernization. Background The modernization of the Bishkek TPP, which has been operating since 1961,...
