A 15th-century bridge collapsed in a Dagestani village. For years, residents had been repairing it themselves.
The ancient bridge collapsed in the village of Kunki, dividing it into two parts. Most of the villagers live in one, and the school is in the other.
Residents have been pushing for major repairs to the bridge for years, but in the meantime, they've been patching it up themselves. It's now closed to vehicles, and walking on it is also dangerous.
Deputy of the district assembly Salikh Salikhov confirmed: "The state never repaired the bridge; the villagers did it themselves. Whatever fell was patched up, and it was kept in more or less decent condition all this time."
According to him, residents appealed to all authorities, but were sent "in circles": the head of the republic forwarded the appeal to the Ministry of Transport, which responded that the bridge is the property of the district administration. However, the district administration does not have the right to repair the bridge, as it is a cultural heritage site.
The Agency for the Protection of Cultural Heritage of the Republic of Dagestan clarified: the bridge was indeed built in the 15th century and restored in the early 20th century.
Experts inspected the bridge and concluded it was in disrepair. The report will be sent to the Dakhadaevsky District administration so that officials can take measures to preserve this cultural heritage site. There's no word on whether the municipality has sufficient funds to restore the ancient bridge.
Earlier, NeMoskva reported how residents of Ryazan village of Vyrkovo themselves built a bridge that officials at all levels have been asking for for 10 years. Tver activists village of Pavlushkino on my own repaired A crumbling bridge. They were luckier: the destroyed bridges weren't cultural heritage sites.
Photo: "Caucasian Knot"
