Residents of a Dagestani village considered the problem of road flooding to be critical.

Road flooding in the village of Novokuli regularly occurs after rainfall, creating serious problems for pedestrians, and authorities are failing to take action, villagers complained. The Investigative Committee reported on a criminal investigation into violations of the rights of village residents.

As reported by the "Caucasian Knot," on March 13, a video message from a Novokuli resident was published complaining that the streets were flooded due to the lack of storm drains and clogged ditches, and numerous appeals to the district administration had yielded no results.

Flooding of streets in Novokuli has been a long-standing problem, local residents confirmed to a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

It's simply impossible to walk.

"When it rains, we have to drive our children to school; it's simply impossible to walk. We can't go to the store or run errands," said village resident Malik.

After the rains, the roads are always flooded, complained village resident Abdurakhman. "One theory is that some villagers are filling up the groundwater drainage canals to create plots for themselves to build houses on. We complain constantly, but no one responds," he said.

Children can't get to school safely

Officials "every year" promise to do something about the street flooding, but there's no result, noted village resident Rashid. "Last year, people wrote a collective letter to the Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation, the Chairman of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation, and the State Duma deputies from Dagestan. We asked them to address the inaction of regional and municipal authorities and the lack of proper response from the republic's prosecutor's office. The letter noted that due to flooding, children cannot safely reach school and kindergarten, and residents are unable to freely leave. We also noted that the road is under the control of the Resettlement Department, which is shirking its maintenance responsibilities," he said.

According to the man, local authorities responded to their appeals with "formal replies" or filled in a few potholes, which did not resolve the problem. "We are pleased with the response of the Russian Investigative Committee to our appeals, and we hope there will be concrete results," the village resident noted.

A representative of the administration of the Kumtorkalinsky District, where Novokuli is located, declined to comment, stating that the Dagestan government's department for the resettlement of the Lak population is handling road reconstruction in the village. Representatives of this department were unavailable for comment, a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent reported today.

If there is no response, then the corresponding appeal is sent to the prosecutor's office.

Usually, the municipality is responsible for flooding streets in a populated area, noted lawyer Ali Aliyev. However, according to him, in this specific case, it is necessary to review the documents to determine who is responsible for servicing the village, as settlements resettled under a special program may have a special status.

"To assess the damage, a flood report must be drawn up, along with photos and video footage, and sent to the local administration. If there is no response, then the corresponding appeal is sent to the prosecutor's office," the lawyer told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

On March 27, the Dagestan State Procurement Committee submitted a bid "for the reconstruction of the street and road network, including landscaping and utilities, in the village of Novokuli in the resettlement Novolaksky District of the Republic of Dagestan." According to the publication, more than 428 million rubles have been allocated for road reconstruction in the village.

As a reminder, unresolved housing and utilities issues are a factor in the growth of protest activity in Dagestan, stated Sergei Bachurin, head of the North Caucasus Federal District Ministry of Internal Affairs, on January 19. Makhachkala residents agreed with his assessment. "Problems with water, electricity, heating, and tariffs are not just household inconveniences, but a trigger for increased social tension, which leads to increased protest activity," noted Rasul Asad, author of the Telegram channel "Ask Rasul."

Dagestan Head Sergei Melikov, during a direct line on November 27, 2025, ignored pressing issues and gave only vague answers to questions raised. Residents of the republic were waiting for Melikov to explain the constant power and water outages, burning landfills, and rising prices for housing and communal services and transportation.