Villagers in Dagestan achieved a response to their appeals about the deteriorating bridge
The Prosecutor's Office of Dagestan conducted an inspection based on reports from social media about the deteriorating road bridge in the village of Bavtugai in the Kizilyurt district and demanded that violations be rectified.
During the inspection, the prosecutor's office found that the 40-meter bridge had long been neglected by the authorized services. The responsible authorities had not conducted an examination of the structure and had not taken measures for its repair, disregarding road safety.
In connection with the identified violations, the Kizilyurt inter-district prosecutor's office submitted an official representation to the responsible structures, the Prosecutor's Office of Dagestan reported on its Telegram channel.
On July 19, the Telegram channel "Chernovik" 2.0, which has over nine thousand subscribers, published a complaint from the residents of Bavtugai, in which they asked to spread information about the problem of the emergency bridge in the village.
Local residents wrote that they had sent an appeal to the "new" government of Dagestan, but feared that they would not be heard once again.
"The bridge over the diversion canal in the village of Bavtugai is the only road connecting the village to the outside world and has been in a pre-emergency state for several years. According to the results of a technical inspection in 2021, the condition of the bridge was rated at 1 point - the category "pre-emergency", and for safety - "unsatisfactory". The report recorded sagging beams, structural cracks, exposed reinforcement, and concrete destruction," the residents wrote in their appeal.
According to the villagers, for a long time the bridge was considered ownerless: the administration and "RusHydro" had been shifting responsibility back and forth for years.
"In 2024, the court established the object as municipal property, but neither repairs nor the construction of a new bridge have begun. Even the design of a new bridge and the start of work coordination do not seem to be in the plans!" the appeal emphasizes.
The villagers say that school buses, ambulances, fire trucks, and residents of the village travel over this bridge every day, as there is no alternative road. They also attached a report with photos of the bridge's defects, as well as a link to an article about how the administration "solves" the problem.
In 2021, the Kizilyurt administration assured residents that the Bavtugai bridge was under close attention from the administration. This is evidenced by an article from August 9, 2021, on the city administration's website.
"Repeated appeals from local residents to the head of Kizilyurt, Magomed Magomedov, regarding the emergency state of the bridge connecting the village and Bavtugai did not go unnoticed. Not limiting himself to verbal explanations, the mayor personally visited the village and, together with the first deputy Malik Patakhov, inspected the condition of the bridge," the article states.
On October 4, 2023, the mayor of Kizilyurt, Magomed Magomedov, was arrested in a case of embezzlement that occurred during his tenure as head of the Ministry of Sports of Dagestan. On August 12, 2024, it became known that Magomedov was charged with aiding terrorism and murder. On November 1, it became known that Rosfinmonitoring included Magomed Magomedov in the list of extremists and terrorists. In April 2025, the investigation dropped the charge against the former head of the Ministry of Sports of Dagestan and former mayor of Kizilyurt, Magomed Magomedov, for financing terrorism. Regarding other charges, including murder, creating a gang, and theft, Magomedov refused to admit guilt.
The administration emphasized that the bridge is not on the city's balance sheet and is federal property, which means that the local authorities do not have the right to spend local funds on its repair. According to officials, the situation was further complicated by the fact that there are special requirements for the repair and reconstruction of bridges, and without a conclusion from a specialized examination, no work can be carried out on the object.
The mayor then assured that regardless of whose balance the object would be on, the issue would be under his personal control, and he would make every effort to achieve a result.
"Caucasian Knot" also reported that residents of the mountainous regions of Dagestan demanded the prompt restoration of traffic across the Red Bridge, calling alternative routes a serious blow to everyday life.