Residents of Shongar, a village near stone quarries in the Garadagh district, recently staged a protest to draw attention to the dire living conditions they face. Despite being located only 30 km from Baku, the village lacks basic amenities such as a secondary school, kindergarten, medical facility, and recreation park. Moreover, the absence of asphalt roads and sewerage systems compounds the issues, and residents only receive drinking water once every three days. The neighboring quarries generate excessive dust, affecting the villagers’ health. Heybat Heybatov, a resident, expressed these grievances to Turan, a news agency.
Approximately 80 to 100 people participated in the protest, while the police observed without intervention. Saleh Gulmammadov, an activist from the village, shared his frustrations with authorities, including officials from the Presidential Administration and the deputy Prime Minister. Despite receiving promises of assistance, no action has been taken thus far.
Children from Shongar must commute daily to the nearby village of Gyzyldash in order to attend school, putting them at risk while traversing a busy highway. The absence of a kindergarten facility also prevents women from seeking employment, as they have no place to leave their preschool-aged children. Urgent medical care is unavailable due to the lack of a local medical institution. Additionally, the village lacks communal spaces for residents to gather and relax with their families. As a result, the villagers have taken it upon themselves to construct a school, aiming to accommodate the 300 students who currently travel to other settlements for education. The absence of a medical facility means that residents must travel long distances to access healthcare services. Furthermore, the community lacks a recreational park and a kindergarten. The village’s water supply is scheduled to be provided one day after two waterless days, and there are no reported issues with gas and electricity supply, according to Gulmammadov.
Other participants, Vasif Hasanov and Ahad Ahadov, have filed written complaints with various authorities, including the Cabinet of Ministers. While a government commission visited the village to assess the situation, no concrete actions have been taken.
Although a secondary school building was constructed in Shongar by the British company BP in 2019, classes ceased shortly thereafter due to design flaws, and the building is now deteriorating. BP is also responsible for laying the asphalt in the village. Despite submitting annual complaints to the authorities, including the Executive power of the Karadag district, no progress has been made to address these issues, as stated by resident Sakin Shahbazov.
Shahbazov further mentioned that when the body of a fallen soldier was brought to the village, the Executive power of the Karadag district arranged for asphalt to be delivered to the martyr’s house. Deputy Aydin Huseynov visited the village multiple times, but the problem of Shongar was not raised in the Milli Majlis, the National Assembly of Azerbaijan.
The Executive authorities of the Garadagh district informed Turan that education and health matters are the responsibility of the relevant ministries, rather than the district’s executive authorities. They acknowledged being aware of the problems listed by the villagers and confirmed that the head of the district had met with Shongar residents the previous week.
Source: Turan News Agency