A new conflict is brewing in Almaty over spot development. Residents of Akademgorodok, living in houses on Al-Farabi Avenue, have recorded a video address to the Head of State. The reason is the upcoming construction of a residential complex on the plot in front of their homes.
According to the Telegram channel «HALYQSTAN», residents are demanding a halt to the development and the return of the land to state ownership in order to set up a public garden and an assembly point for residents in emergencies.
«We are ready to participate in planting trees and caring for the area ourselves. The main thing is to preserve the open space and avoid mistakes that cannot be corrected later,» the statement says.
As the authors of the address note, the plot is located in a seismically active zone — directly on a tectonic fault. Furthermore, construction could block the last passage for mountain air, which would worsen the environmental situation.
At the same time, high-voltage cables run beneath the plot, and the existing infrastructure of the area is already overloaded by new residential complexes.
Other risks include worn-out utilities and a transport problem: the only path leading to the «Akademgorodok» bus stop runs right through the disputed plot. If it is blocked off, residents will lose access to public transport.
According to residents, no public hearings were held, and they did not give official consent for the construction. The plot itself is privately owned and, residents claim, has been sold multiple times to avoid fines for non-development.