Citizens are being extorted from money

Baku/01.03.21/Turan: Frosty weather in the country last week led to freezing of water in pipes and mechanical water meters located in open space. After the ice melted, it turned out that in some suburban areas the counters deteriorated. Azersu's inspectors called on the spot sometimes extort money from the land owners to replace the damaged meters.

The problem of frozen water meters has acquired a nationwide scale, complaints about the Azersu 955 Hotline come from all regions of the country and the capital, - the video report says.

https://www.xezerxeber.az/news/veb-tv/31452/video-su-saygaclari-siradan-cixib

Anar Jabrayilli, a representative of Azersu OJSC, said in the report that the frozen meters will be replaced with new ones at the expense of subscribers. However, he had previously told the press about replacing damaged meters at the expense of the state.

On the eve of the frost, the official website of Azersu posted a warning to citizens about the need to close the tap of the water entering the meter and open the tap on the pipe that drains the water so that there would be no water in the meter in frost. Second tip from Azersu: leave the taps open a little so that the water flows non-stop and does not freeze.

But citizens are not obliged to read messages on this site every day, and for the water flowing out for days, they will have to pay at a new, high tariff: 1 manat for 1 cubic meter of water.

The warning from Azersu ends with a reminder to citizens of the responsibility for the safety of meters. The warning about shifting the financial burden on citizens for the repair or replacement of meters is not mentioned.

The owner of a land plot in the Saray Bagları summer cottage, Kamal Ali, faced extortion before the frost. In the land acquired by a citizen in 2020, there is a non-working old water meter registered under the number 1331924020000.

The controller summoned to the site in January 2021 confirmed the meter's malfunction and stated the need for K. Ali to pay for a new device in Azersu or buy a meter in the market. To the subscriber's objection about the responsibility for this OJSC he replied: there are no new meters in the department, and it is not known when they will be.

Then K. Ali on 09.02.2021 turned to the Sumgayit ASAN Xidmət, offering citizens the registration of services for the replacement and installation of water meters. However, in this case, ASAN Xidmət, widely advertised by the state, acted as a broker, advising a citizen to apply for a solution to the problem at the Sumgayit Water Canal Administration, a division of Azersu. To the objection of a citizen who informed the employee about the extortion of the Azersu controller. the employee repeated the argument about the absence of new meters in the department.

On February 26, Kamal Ali sent a letter to the Sumgayit Water Canal Directorate by mail with a request to replace the non-working meter free of charge.

Legalized in 2014 (decree N262) by the Cabinet of Ministers "Rules for the use of water" (it is repeatedly reported about the obligation of the state to pay for the installation, repair and replacement of water meters for individuals (population). Legal entities (shops, offices, enterprises, etc.) pay for these works by themselves.

In Clause 2.1.8 it is said: if the meter deteriorates through no fault of citizens, repairs, check and replacement of meters are carried out free of charge.

Further, in clause 6.5, the words about the installation and replacement of meters for individuals are repeated free of charge, at the expense of Azersu.

Clause 6.10 specifies the period for replacing meters - 15 days, and the provision on free replacement for individuals is repeated again.

Given these government-approved rules, an Azersu representative's requirement for citizens to pay for the replacement or repair of meters damaged through no fault of theirs looks like criminal extortion. —0—