Tap water permitted in Dagestan after mass poisoning
The authorities of the Magaramkent district lifted the ban on the use of water supplied to residents in five villages and allowed kindergartens to operate after mass poisoning of residents.
As "Kavkazsky Uzel" reported, at least 392 residents of the Magaramkent district were infected with an intestinal infection after drinking tap water. The cause of the poisoning was the lack of water treatment and numerous violations in the water supply system, Rospotrebnadzor of Dagestan confirmed on July 13. By July 21, all victims were discharged from the hospital.
Those responsible for water supply did not disinfect water in reservoirs, water supply networks and storage tanks, the Ministry of Construction stated. A criminal case has been opened, and the director of the municipal budgetary institution "Housing and Communal Services" has been arrested. The head of Dagestan, Sergei Melikov, called the mass poisoning the result of "negligence and irresponsibility," calling on the head of the Magaramkent region, Farid Akhmedov, not to go into military service and "answer for what happened."
The quality of the supplied drinking water meets sanitary standards, said the head of the Magaramkent district, Farid Akhmedov. The district authorities decided to lift the ban on the use of water in five villages of the district and resume the work of kindergartens.
The district authorities also recommended intensifying explanatory work on the need for vaccination, monitoring the timely removal of garbage from the territory of villages, continuing to check the condition of the drinking water supply system "Dzhepel-Gilyar-Kuysun-Magaramkent" constantly and chlorinating drinking water at springs near the village of Dzhepel.
At the same time, the authorities emphasized that drinking water must be boiled.
Recall that until the end of the day on July 11, residents of the district were prohibited from using tap water even for technical purposes. Although drinking water is brought to the villages, for hygiene purposes, they have to use tap water, despite the ban, villagers told the "Caucasian Knot". "We continue to wash things with tap water, how else can we do it? We have three children, we can't wash all our things by hand, and where can we get so much clean water?" said, in particular, Maryam, a resident of Magaramkent.
Over the almost five years that Melikov has headed the republic (since October 2020), mass poisonings from tap water have repeatedly occurred in Dagestan.
For example, in June 2024, at least 228 people were hospitalized in Buynaksk after mass poisoning. The Rospotrebnadzor Administration stated that tap water was the source of the mass infection. In January 2021, there was also a mass poisoning of residents of Buinaksk with tap water, when 359 people sought medical attention. Following the investigation of the criminal case, the head of Buinakskvodokanal was fined only 100 thousand rubles, while the prosecutor demanded an even smaller fine - 50 thousand rubles.
Mass poisonings in Buinaksk are occurring against the backdrop of sewage entering worn-out water supply networks and illegal taps into the water supply system, Dagestani specialists indicated.
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