“It’s just a shame”: How Russian aid is wasted on the restoration of Crimea
The downpours that hit Crimea in early June became further evidence of the ineffectiveness of local officials in managing the colossal budgets allocated by Russia for the restoration of the peninsula after it was under Ukrainian control.
In the capital of Crimea, Simferopol, city managers are still unable to resolve the issue with storm drains. As a result, the area of the capital’s railway station and one of the largest shopping centers in Crimea, “Metanom”, were flooded.
“The flood is a common thing for us, but the peculiarity of this is that it happened after several years of intensive improvement of city streets, repairing the road surface, and in some places several times. The city administration is silent, not reacting in any way to the natural and justified indignation of Simferopol residents. Don't know what to say? “Well, at least tell a lie!” – Crimean political scientist Sergei Kiselev comments on what happened in his blog.
“This is just such a shame! Hundreds of millions of public money have been spent,” the expert concludes.
Director of the non-profit organization Housing and Utilities Control of the Republic of Crimea, Anatoly Petrov, notes that this is happening due to unscrupulous repairs of the roads of Simferopol: “Instead of the standard storm drainage gratings, some kind of decorative hatches with holes were put in.”
It is interesting that the newest terminal of the Simferopol airport, built several years ago, could not withstand heavy rains - its roof leaked in many places.
“We can send a big hello to the builders who did a poor job of waterproofing the roof and gutters. They paid high salaries, so they were in a hurry to hand over the project as quickly as possible,” notes former member of the Crimean parliament Sergei Shuvainikov in his blog.
English version :: Read in English "It's just a disgrace": How Russia's aid to Crimea's restoration is being squandered