Dmitry Drize – about the consequences of floods in Russia

The head of the Ministry of Construction, Irek Faizullin, spoke harshly about the design of the dam in Orsk, which could not prevent the flooding of the city and surrounding areas. Previously, there was a version that the collapse of the earthen rampart occurred due to reasons beyond human control. Meanwhile, according to preliminary data, damage from floods in the Orenburg region alone has already exceeded 40 billion rubles. In the regional capital, the water level in the Ural River has reached a record high. Kommersant FM political commentator Dmitry Drize believes that local officials are in danger of serious trouble.

The Minister of Construction and Housing and Public Utilities of the Russian Federation, Irek Fayzullin, on instructions from the state leadership, arrived in Orsk to assess on the spot the consequences of the natural disaster that had hit the region. It must be said right away that even preliminary estimates of damage produce a depressing impression. In particular, 268 multi-apartment buildings, 6.2 thousand individual houses and more than 30 social and cultural facilities require restoration – a total of 40 billion rubles, and these are preliminary figures.

Among other things, a high Moscow official spoke about the causes of the disaster. And, of course, he mentioned the dam, which has become famous throughout the country. Yes, the same one that was supposed to protect the city, but failed to cope with the task. Irek Fayzullin did not appreciate the preliminary conclusions, for example, about insidious rodents that dug holes and gave access to water. The version about the guilt of Kazakhstan, which allegedly carried out an unauthorized discharge of water into the river, also did not find support.

The head of the Ministry of Construction made it clear that those who built all this will face big troubles. The commission will sort everything out, but it is already clear that the estimate was inflated – 1 billion rubles. this structure is not standing, and in general it is not a dam, but an embankment. As it turns out, it was designed for six meters. However, the water came to a height of 10 meters – it did not show consciousness and refused to enter the position.

There were numerous complaints, comments and demands regarding this object, all of which should be eliminated within such and such a period. And there is documentation that confirms all this. But they didn’t fix it and didn’t react in time. You can always find a reason. The country first experienced the coronavirus pandemic, then struggled with its consequences, and the current flood is abnormal; funds were allocated in insufficient quantities.

So we built it as much as we could afford. That is, for the indicated six meters, and for another four upwards, the costs were not agreed upon. Again, corruption cannot be ruled out.

Why isn’t all this surprising? Because there is no real control, the official is responsible primarily to his superiors, and they are far away – in Moscow. And the regulations on how high the dam should be built are stated somewhere.

However, the ordinary voter – the one for whom all this is being built – knows nothing about this. If there had been transparency in the decisions made, in order to understand what every penny of the people’s money is spent on, there would have been public hearings, with the involvement of independent specialists, and perhaps the result would have been different. But we have no time, grandiose tasks have been set for the country, there is no time for trifles. So compensation will be paid, whoever needs to be punished. The situation is under control, and that’s the main thing.

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