"They cleared the road, which means something will be built here": What are the residents of Tashkent district worried about?

"They shifted the road, which means something will be built here": What are the residents of Tashkent district worried about?

"All residents here are against the construction of apartment buildings"

According to the neighborhood residents, their main demand is that multi-story buildings should not be built on the site of the old road, and a solution should be found for the transport problem in the area.

"Well, our complaint – we have no opposition to the state. Just let them come and ask the residents here: what is convenient for you? But all residents here are against the construction of 'doms' (apartment buildings). If it were up to us, they would make both this side and that side of the road one-way, and make a park in the middle.

The district khokim (governor) was also contacted. The district khokim said that no apartment building would be built, but he said, 'I cannot tell you in writing, I cannot confirm it.' However, for now, he said no apartment building would be built. But we have such a project in our hands, it reached us - a 'dom' will be built here," says one of the neighborhood residents.

According to citizens, new residential complexes are also being built nearby. In their opinion, if more multi-story buildings are built in this area, the flow of residents and cars will increase further, and the currently existing traffic congestion could become a serious problem.

As the khokim of Tashkent district, Sardor Ergashev, explained, the old road was located along the water. According to him, the shifting of the road to the right side was caused by the plan to improve the area and create a promenade.

"Because that is a place located along the water, big water. We are making a promenade there. That is, the reason we shifted the road to the right side is that it was a permanent landfill, meaning an neglected place where construction waste was dumped. Therefore, in order to turn this side into a promenade, the road was moved to the right side," said the district khokim.

The khokim emphasized that the construction of residential housing on the site of the old road has not been officially determined yet.

"After the road is built, whether there will be a shopping center, a park, a green space, a commercial and service complex, or a sports ground - that thing does not exist, it was not a 'dom', it has not been put up for auction. Therefore, nothing has been said about a 'dom', because it is an unfounded assumption," said the district khokim.

Regarding the width of the road, the data of the residents and the khokimiyat differ from each other.

Residents say the old road was about 11–14 meters wide, while the new road is 9 meters.

"This new road is a 9-meter road, very narrow. There is neither entry nor exit. If this road were wider, it would be convenient for everyone in the neighborhood. Because why are the people coming out - no one is listening to the people's pain, even the khokim is closing his eyes. Even when we enter from here and I stand in front of my own house, I struggle a lot to get in and out.

The old road was around 14 meters, 12 meters. But this place was convenient, there was no such traffic congestion, cars could easily enter and exit. On the current new road, people are struggling a lot. Is there a solution for this here? Also, for what reason did they shift the old road? We are not getting that answer. That is why the people are coming out and protesting here, many people," he said.

The district khokim, however, stated that according to the project, the total width of the new road is 16 meters, of which 9 meters is the carriageway, and the remaining part consists of a sidewalk, a green zone, and drainage gutters.

"Our current project, the road we are building, has a total width of 16 meters in the project. The carriageway is 9 meters. The remaining part consists of a sidewalk, a green lane, and drainage gutters. You are saying the previous road was 12 meters, it was not 12 meters. Now the residents are saying 12 meters. 7 meters - that was the previous road in the cadastre document," he said.

Citizens say that during the road reconstruction process, the playground in the neighborhood was also demolished. According to them, previously dozens of children from different parts of the neighborhood used to play in this area.

"We had a playground for children to play here. 70–80 children used to come, they played right here, children from all over the neighborhood came out to play. Now there is no playground, they demolished all of it. When we asked, they said they would rebuild it. I don't know when they will rebuild it, but they said they would. One of them comes, or some assistant of his comes. He says: 'no, just play right here on the playground'. One of them, his assistant came and said, 'let the child play here'. A tiny place," says one of the neighborhood residents.

Residents are also worried about the fate of the trees in the area and what kind of work might be carried out in their place.

"We have 12 apricot trees here. But we take care of them ourselves and harvest the fruit here. At yesterday's meeting, the khokim said, 'apricots won't grow here, you are telling me about trees that do not bear fruit.' But because the cold came this year, many trees were affected by the frost and did not bear fruit.

But he says he will cut down these trees and instead put the land up for auction and sell it, saying 'we will bring in investments for entrepreneurs, we will create jobs.' But there are no such conditions here. Also, if they build houses, there is no parking lot, the parking lot is very narrow. Furthermore, down here, a 'dom' called Mezana is being built, but they are not taking their entry and exit into account either. The population is growing too fast. We must think about the future tomorrow," he says.

The main concern of the residents is the possibility of building a six-story residential complex on the site of the old road.

Citizens say they heard such information from the builders who worked on the road construction. Some residents even claimed that there is a project showing such construction.

However, according to the Tashkent district construction department, so far they have not received any construction project for this area from the district khokimiyat.

At the same time, residents say that specialists recently came to the area and took soil samples. They are worried that these activities might be related to checking the feasibility of future construction.

The khokimiyat, meanwhile, states that what kind of facility will be built on the site of the old road has not been decided yet. First of all, the possibilities and limitations of the area must be studied, and the conclusion of the relevant commission must be obtained.

Thus, for now, the construction of residential housing on Mustaqillik Street has not been officially confirmed. However, the questions of why exactly the road was shifted in this way, how the site of the old road will be used, and the residents' proposals regarding transport and improvement remain open.