BISHKEK (Kyrgyzstan): Thousands of households in the capital of Kyrgyzstan have been hit by chronic gas and power shortages just as temperatures have dropped to around minus 20 Celsius (minus 4 Fahrenheit).
Residents of Bishkek and nearby towns, including Kant, which houses a Russian airbase, struggled Tuesday for a fifth straight day to keep homes warm.
The crisis has been provoked by a shortage in natural gas deliveries from neighboring Kazakhstan, which has had to hold onto its own reserves after failing to receive imports from Uzbekistan. The reason for the shortfall from Uzbekistan has not been clarified.
These Central Asian nations, all once part of the Soviet Union, have routinely failed since independence to reach a satisfactory working arrangement on sharing resources.
Failure in gas deliveries pushes people into using more electricity for heating, which in turn leads to blackouts.
The cuts are fraying tempers in Kyrgyzstan, which also hosts a U.S. airbase and has struggled to maintain stability since the previous president was overthrown in an uprising in 2010.
Energy Minister Avtandil Kalmambetov said Kazakhstan is delivering only about 60 percent of the amount of gas it had agreed to.
Gas supplies to 80 percent of the houses and 40 percent of the apartments in Bishkek have been suspended since Friday, Kalmambetov said.
Kyrgyzstan has been bedeviled with energy shortages since independence. Uzbekistan has repeatedly cut off its direct gas supplies to Kyrgyzstan over unpaid debts.
Bishkek suburbs resident Natalya Umnova said temperatures in her apartment have dropped to 46 degrees Fahrenheit (8 degrees Celsius).
"For two days we've had no power or gas. It is impossible for us to stay. I can't even make a cup of tea," said Umnova.
Prime Minister Zhantoro Satybaldiyev has drawn many people's ire for criticizing Bishkek residents for failing to stockpile coal.
"No matter how much we appeal to the people, they still make mistakes and fail to stock up on alternative fuel," he said this week.
The remarks were reminiscent of suggestions to consider burning dung for heating once made by former President Kurmanbek Bakiyev, who was overthrown in a violent revolt in 2010 after five years in power.
Failures in fulfilling basic energy needs were a core factor leading to Bakiyev's ouster.
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