In the village of Yerkinkala, Atyrau Region, the state-run kindergarten No. 37 "Bolashak", built in 2019, is being closed due to the building's dilapidated condition.
According to Informburo.kz, over five years of operation the building's foundation has subsided, cracks have appeared on the walls, and the floor has collapsed in some rooms. More than 200 children attended the kindergarten. Parents are now forced to take them to preschools in neighbouring villages.
"I took two children to this kindergarten. Its closure is now causing problems. We take both of them to a preschool in Zhumysker (a village in Atyrau Region). It's difficult. There's also no transport. Now we hope the kindergarten will reopen before September," said Aruzhan Alimzhanova, a resident of the village.
According to the head of the kindergarten, Gulbanu Konayeva, the decision to suspend operations was made for safety reasons.
It has become known that approximately 700 million tenge from the republican budget was spent on building the two-storey kindergarten. According to the head of the regional construction department, Kulan Kulbayeva, no construction defects were identified when the facility was commissioned.
"Since the facility was put into operation, water may be getting under the building. We don't know for sure; different situations occur. Most often this happens due to leaks. During operation, wastewater, drinking water, or irrigation water can get in, and if all this seeps under the basement, such a situation arises. Only a technical inspection can determine this," explained Kulbayeva.
Parents, for their part, believe that the cause of the damage was poor-quality construction and a lack of proper oversight by local authorities and contractors. Officials have assured that they plan to carry out major repairs, but the timeline for starting them has not yet been determined.
As a reminder, in January, the construction of a school in the village of Bulandy, Birzhan sal district, Akmola Region, was completed after nearly four years. It was noted that the cost of the 80-place facility increased from the initial 673 million to more than 1 billion tenge.