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Bishkek freezes amid shortage of gas
Source: Agencies |
December 19, 2012, Wednesday
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THOUSANDS of households in Kyrgyzstan's capital have been hit by chronic gas and power shortages just as temperatures have dropped to around minus 20 degrees Celsius.
Residents of Bishkek and nearby towns, including Kant, which houses a Russian airbase, struggled yesterday for a fifth straight day to keep homes warm.
The crisis has been provoked by a shortage in natural gas deliveries from neighboring Kazakhstan, which has had to hold onto its own reserves after failing to receive imports from Uzbekistan. The reason for the shortfall from Uzbekistan has not been clarified.
These Central Asian nations, all once part of the Soviet Union, have routinely failed since independence to reach a satisfactory working arrangement on sharing resources.
Failure in gas deliveries pushes people into using more electricity for heating, which in turn leads to blackouts.
The cuts are fraying tempers in Kyrgyzstan, which also hosts a United States airbase and has struggled to maintain stability since the previous president was overthrown in an uprising in 2010.
Energy Minister Avtandil Kalmambetov said Kazakhstan is delivering only about 60 percent of the amount of gas it had agreed to.
Gas supplies to 80 percent of the houses and 40 percent of the apartments in Bishkek have been suspended since Friday, Kalmambetov said.
Bishkek resident Natalya Umnova said temperatures in her apartment have dropped to 8 degrees. "For two days we've had no power or gas. It is impossible for us to stay. I can't even make a cup of tea."
Prime Minister Zhantoro Satybaldiyev has drawn flak for criticizing Bishkek residents for failing to stockpile coal.
Residents of Bishkek and nearby towns, including Kant, which houses a Russian airbase, struggled yesterday for a fifth straight day to keep homes warm.
The crisis has been provoked by a shortage in natural gas deliveries from neighboring Kazakhstan, which has had to hold onto its own reserves after failing to receive imports from Uzbekistan. The reason for the shortfall from Uzbekistan has not been clarified.
These Central Asian nations, all once part of the Soviet Union, have routinely failed since independence to reach a satisfactory working arrangement on sharing resources.
Failure in gas deliveries pushes people into using more electricity for heating, which in turn leads to blackouts.
The cuts are fraying tempers in Kyrgyzstan, which also hosts a United States airbase and has struggled to maintain stability since the previous president was overthrown in an uprising in 2010.
Energy Minister Avtandil Kalmambetov said Kazakhstan is delivering only about 60 percent of the amount of gas it had agreed to.
Gas supplies to 80 percent of the houses and 40 percent of the apartments in Bishkek have been suspended since Friday, Kalmambetov said.
Bishkek resident Natalya Umnova said temperatures in her apartment have dropped to 8 degrees. "For two days we've had no power or gas. It is impossible for us to stay. I can't even make a cup of tea."
Prime Minister Zhantoro Satybaldiyev has drawn flak for criticizing Bishkek residents for failing to stockpile coal.
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