Baku residents demand to save the last lake in the Yasamal district

Baku/29.07.20/Turan: During the soviet times, in the upland region of Baku, in the Yasamal district, there were four lakes with subsoil water, formed on the site of the former stone quarries. It was possible to improve the reservoirs, build beautiful embankments and get a wonderful area. However, in the wild nineties, two lakes  were covered with sand in order to build houses in their place.

In 2001, the then head of the Baku administration, Hajibala Abutalibov, took under his control the large lake Ganligel. He destroyed the lake that keeps the city cool during the hot months for the construction of a large car market in its place.  In Tbilisi, Turtle Lakes located in the mountains above the city are used as beaches for the townspeople. And  in our city the lakes were "demolished" instead of creating a recreation area with freshwater lakes above Baku ...

Since July of this year, Baku business has undertaken to develop the last lake in  the district of  Yasamal, or rather even a pond at the intersection of Hasan bey Zardabi and Akim Abbasov streets, at the foot of the Three Crowns residential quarter. Covering the reservoir with land  began in early July. According to local residents, the owner of the Lake Otel, which owns the territory, is engaged in the destruction of the lake.

Residents of "Three Crowns" reported what was happening to the presidential administration, other government agencies and the press. Deputy Chairman of the Ecological Society of Azerbaijan Milena Nabiyeva took up the problem of the lake. In an interview for Turan, she said that a month before these events, at the request of residents, she sought to clean the coast and the bottom of the lake from household waste. She planned to conduct a laboratory examination of the quality of water in order to determine the danger of its use as a place for recreation, bathing of people.

But in July, she had to leave this case in order to save the lake from a businessman intending to dry it for his own undeclared needs. By that time, about a third of the reservoir was covered with soil brought by trucks. “There shouldn't be any dryness there,” Nabieva met with officials at the Ministry of Ecology and the Executive Power of the Yasamal District with such a demand.

“During our meeting, we jointly agreed that the lake must be preserved by any means. Specialists in this field will be attracted there; water and soil analysis will be taken. The head of the region E. Hasanov said that he would also make every effort to preserve this beautiful corner. There can be no question of drying up this lake, the head of the district promised.

Elshad Hasanov met with residents of the houses that surround this lake, listened to their demands and promised to solve everything soon, Nabiyeva told Turan. The chief assistant to the head of the regional administration informed Turan about the results of the conversations between Nabiyeva and the head of the Yasamal region, Elshad Hasanov. He said that the lake would be preserved and given to residents as a resting place.

The assistant sent the text of the statement to the editorial office, from which it follows that the work on draining the lake was carried out to fulfill the instructions of the regional executive authority, which demanded from the owner to clear the territory of garbage. However, - says the statement of the head of the district, posted by him on Facebook, - the owner has violated the ecological balance of the lake.

“In this regard, the Executive Power issued a strict warning to the owner and instructed him to bring the territory to its previous state at his own expense. Currently, cleaning works are ongoing, the area  near the “Three Crowns” residential complex should be brought to its original state. The work is monitored, and will  be completed as soon as possible," reads the message posted on the page of the head of the regional administration of the press service. E. Hasanov explained that the builders involved by him return the previous state to the lake and the surrounding area.

“No cleaning was done. On the contrary, they covered the only lake within the boundaries of Baku. They say that the owners are high-ranking people close to the family,” a Baku  resident Eka Karaeva left such a note in one of the sites under the publication about this lake.