"Rabbits Again": Major Utility Failure Strikes Yakutsk City Center
Yakutsk hit by second sewage flood in a month amid ageing infrastructure
YAKUTIA.INFO. Another infrastructure failure hit central Yakutsk today, this time on Kurashov Street. A sewage blockage caused flooding across the main road between the TsUM and Prospekt shopping centers.
The municipal utility Zhilkomservis responded to reports of the spill on social media.
Specialists from Zhilkomservis, the municipal utility under Yakutsk's city administration, continue emergency work to thaw manhole wells, clear blockages, and contain leaks. Operations are proceeding as planned, with each incident under close supervision to minimize disruption for residents, the company reported in the Stolitsa Telegram channel.
Earlier, Yakutsk Mayor Yevgeny Grigoryev identified the root cause of the city's persistent sewage problems.
"We've even found rabbits in the pipes. But the real scourge is wet wipes… People move here who've never lived in apartment buildings before. So for many, the rules are simply unknown," the mayor was quoted as saying by 14ru.
According to the outlet, in response to these issues, Yakutsk's city hall adopted a Resident Code of Conduct.
"Improper sewage use is only the first cause of blockages and ruptures. The second, the mayor admits, is that the municipal utility Zhilkomservis doesn't always repair the networks in time," the publication reports.
However, as Yakutia.Info (YI) notes, blaming residents is a convenient but unproductive stance. When "everyone is at fault," responsibility shifts from specific officials to an abstract notion of a "bad public."
Moreover, this section of the network has seen repeated failures in recent years. Yet authorities have remained silent on a key question: which agency is actually responsible for maintaining these sewage lines?YI's sources indicate that Vodokanal previously held that responsibility.
