President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev is currently holding a meeting with public figures of the Kashkadarya region, deputies of the local council, heads of ministries and other government departments.
The session started with critical analysis of the socio-economic situation in the province.
“The main purpose sought from my visit here is to identify specific tasks and measures together with you to give a powerful impetus to the development of the region. Kashkadarya has not been using its potential to the full, it lags far behind many regions of the country,” the head of state told the participants.
This province wields immense opportunities. But the state of its economy and social sphere hardly corresponds to that resource base. Over the past 10 years, for example, the region’s share in gross domestic product has fallen from 9.4 to 7.1 percent, and in industry it has plummeted from 11 to 6 percent.
“Here, per capita gross regional product is one of the lowest in the country. Do the Kashkadarya people deserve this?” the President posed a question to officials in charge.
No scientific base and innovative approach has been utilized for the cultivation of agricultural crops, nor have any new varieties been created to meet the climatic conditions of the region. Last year, the cotton yield reached just 19 centners per hectare, which is again the lowest in the country. Agricultural machinery have been scarce. So has the level of product processing.
Shavkat Mirziyoyev slammed the works in irrigation and land reclamation in the region. As a result of improper irrigation, 45 percent of the land is salinized. In this sense, the situation is especially complicated in the Mubarek, Ghuzar, Nishan and Kasan districts. 38 thousand hectares of land were removed from circulation. Drip irrigation has been introduced only on 2.4 percent of irrigated areas.
The extent of provision of population with drinking water in the region is 50 percent in general; in Kasan, in particular, it is 26 percent, and in Dehkanabad it is as miserable as 4 percent. 60 percent of the pipes need repair. The sewerage system in the city of Karshi is worn out. A total of 8.7 thousand kilometers of roads in the region have fallen into disrepair.
The President expounded on the quality of education and medical care in the province.
In 88 schools of the region, it was reported, studies are carried out in several shifts, while a few branches of schools are built of broken clay. Kashkadarya youth ranks 13th in Uzbekistan in terms of enrolment in higher educational institutions. This year, for example, none of the graduates of 191 schools in the region have been admitted to a university.
There is a shortage of 257 narrow-specialization doctors and 855 physicians in primary healthcare. The region is in need of 18 more family polyclinics and 30 family doctor’s offices in rural areas. Despite the fact that a family polyclinic should cover an average of 25-30 thousand people, in Kashkadarya region it is as high as 90 thousand.
The meeting participants also analyzed other pressing issues, available opportunities, discussed priorities for the comprehensive development of Kashkadarya and improvement in the living conditions of the population.
