Residents of the village of Bayil refuse a meager rent

Residents of the Baku village of Bayil finally will receive money for renting apartments. Exactly one month ago, a landslide broke down on the Bayil slope, which damaged several houses, but not only residents of damaged houses, but all residents of the dangerous area were evacuated by the decision of the authorities. In total, 98 families were resettled and placed in schools.

A few days after the incident, the head of the Executive Power of the Sabail District, Eldar Azizov, said that residents will be paid a rent so that they can rent temporary housing until all the details are clarified. The same decision was made by the Cabinet of Ministers of the country: before the conclusion of experts on whether residents will be able to return to their homes, they will be paid for renting apartments. Parallel to this, it turned out that the owners of most of the emergency houses do not have documents on them, which means they live as illegal, but the residents themselves claimed that they had settled in the territory more than 25 years ago, and all this time they regularly paid for utilities, not causing censure of local authorities.

After the evacuation, some residents refused to leave their homes, despite the fact that all communication lines were disconnected, light, gas and water were turned off. They explained this by the fact that it is impossible to live in schools, and they demanded compensation for their housing. A few days after the torrential rains, the landslide became more active, as a result of which four houses on the site were completely destroyed, and two houses came to an unfit state.

All this time the demands of the inhabitants and the promises of the head of the Executive Power remained unfulfilled. Only a month later the settlers were given money for rent. Moreover, the money was transferred only to 67 families, and not to the International Bank of Azerbaijan, as was previously stated, but paid in cash on the basis of identity cards. According to the residents, they were paid only one month of rent, and then they were given a miserable one.

"We were promised that the amount of payments will be 250-260 manats, however, they gave only 100-150 manats. This is for families that consist of 3-4 people. Families of 6 people were paid AZN 250, and families of eight or more members - AZN 300. We were told that the cards are not ready yet, then the money will be transferred to the cards. Abid Sharifov (Deputy Prime Minister - Ed.) said that as soon as we are paid a rent, the houses will be demolished. At night, the workers of Azersu removed the meters, a few days ago, the power poles were demolished. Does this mean that the houses will really be demolished? Many of us refused to rent. We, as before, demand compensation," residents repeat vigilantly.

Abid Sharifov told reporters that the decision to evacuate was the only correct one, and it saved the lives of 25 villagers: "From the Reserve Fund of the Cabinet of Ministers, these residents were allocated money for rent. The decision of the Cabinet saved 25 people who lived in 4 collapsed houses. We need to see if the landslide process stops, how it can be prevented. While there are no changes. But small landslides continue. Houses on the landslide zone are protected. While it is impossible to say anything about the demolition of 97 houses, the resettlement of all residents. After all, resettlement of residents of 97 houses is not an easy task," the Deputy Prime Minister stressed.

The family of the deceased journalist Rasim Aliyev, who lives near the landslide, was also in the position of the settlers. According to the mother of journalist Tayfura Aliyeva, despite the fact that the landslide did not touch their house, they also had to move.

"We were deported urgently. They came in the evening, said that it was dangerous to stay here, and forced us to leave the house. We could not even get together properly, all the things were left at home, took only a portrait of Rasim and some things. About a month we lived in school, but then our granddaughter fell ill, and we were forced to rent an apartment at our own expense. Now we transport furniture. Yesterday we got 200 manats for rent. Since we rented an apartment a little earlier, for such a sum one could still find something decent housing, but now it is almost impossible. At Bayil, landlords learned that the money for the rent was paid, and raised the prices for apartments. Unhappy people run back and forth in search of an apartment, but everything is expensive in the village of Bayil; for this money people can rent a housing far from the center," Aliyeva said. Tayfura Aliyeva added that at the moment they are interrogating all residents of the emergency houses.

"A lawsuit has been filed on the fact of illegal construction. A group of investigators from the Baku City Prosecutor's Office which are in the Housing Communal Office N46 interrogate all the inhabitants on the list. We were also interrogated, but there are no problems with us, since we are the only ones who have a document for the house. Most of people do not have documents, but everyone, including the Chief Executive, knew that people lived there. If it is illegal, why did not they take any measures? The question of compensation is still open. Someone says that compensation will be paid after the end of the investigation and the court decision, representatives of the Executive Power say that they are waiting for the experts' opinion. Nothing is clear. We demand compensation, we do not like living in a rented apartment, we want our housing," said Tayfura Aliyeva.