With winter around the corner Tajikistan’s authorities and residents are wondering if the country is ready for the cold season. While Barki Tojik, the country’s electricity authority, promises to be more prepared for this winter, analysts are saying Tajiks should prepare for electricity and gas outages.

Barki Tojik have introduced electricity limits for the cold season back in October (through April), but they promised to keep large administrative centers, such as Khujand, Kulyab, Dushanbe and others untouched.

Gas stoves and candles

While large cities haven’t experienced electricity or gas outages yet, just a few kilometres away in Vahdat, electricity is available to citizens for only four to seven hours per day this winter, local residents told Silk Road Reporters.

Saida Safarova, a citizen of Vahdat, says that when temperatures begin falling, they have to depend on their gas stove as a means to survive.

“The gas stove helps us warm up, prepare food and boil water for drinking and tea,” Safarova said.

According to Bakri Tojik press secretary Nozirjon Yodgori, this year the electricity limits started as of October 1.

“If we are going to have a severe winter, we need to make sure we use electricity carefully, and therefore we had to again introduce energy,” Yodgori said.

Schools in the villages are getting ready for the season as well. They collect firewood, coal, gas stoves and candles to keep the schools warm and to provide light.

Urmon Dehqonov, head of Rudaki District School #33, said his school has prepared enough firewood, coal and diesel oil to ensure the school is warm during the winter.

“We set up stoves in every classroom and heat them up with coal. We also generators in certain rooms, such as the computer room,” Dehqonov said.

First Snow

Last week Tajikistan had its first snow this winter season; and, as observed by Silk Road Reporters correspondent, this was a test that Tajik electricity system wasn’t ready for.

In Dushanbe many buildings were left without electricity for hours, including schools and government offices. In many other regions the electricity was shut off for more than 24 hours.

Dushanbe Resident Gulru Saliyeva said she worried later this winter Tajik citizens will lose power more than once. “Candles and gas stoves is all we have,” she said.

Safety

Abdurazzak Bakhromov, residential property safety expert, says many Tajik citizens use gas canisters as well as various other improvised “devices” to keep warm, such as metallic bed lattices in order to heat up their houses.

“In the past year we have had a few accidents, because these homemade devices are clearly not safe. People go to extreme measures to keep their families warm, but they forget about safety. The government should help people by distributing safe heating devices and warning people against using unsafe, homemade ones. But our government never has money for that,” he said.

Problems on the Streets

The first snow last week has reminded Tajiks of another winter problem – problems with public transportation and roads, Saliyeva said, complaining that no municipality machines were noticed on the streets of Dushanbe cleaning snow off the roads last week.

Abduhalim Majidov Vice-chairman of Dushanbe municipality transportation department, said that all public transportation and snow cleaning machines have been tested and are ready to operate this year.

“We have more than 2,000 mini-buses and 900 buses ready to operate this winter. All of them have been tested,” he said.

Press Secretary of the Dushabe town council Shavkat Saidov added that all snow cleaning machines will be ready to operate this winter, but many citizens are still concerned by the city’s failure to clear the first snow.

Citizens like Saliyeva worry that Tajikistan isn’t prepared for winter. “I can’t express how tired I am of all these difficulties happening over and over again each year. Our government has to find a way out”, she said.