Deputy governor in Surkhandarya uses abusive language toward irrigation workers (video)

QALAMPIR.UZ has received an audio recording allegedly belonging to Shodmon Allaberdiev, Deputy Governor of Uzun district in Surkhandarya region responsible for the comprehensive development of the Bobotog area.

The audio captures the deputy governor verbally abusing irrigation workers with crude and offensive language, reportedly because they failed to monitor water supply to farmers’ fields. According to the source who provided the audio, the incident occurred on 25 November at around 08:00 in the Mustaqillik neighbourhood of the district.

To clarify the situation, a QALAMPIR.UZ journalist contacted the official directly. Upon hearing the question, Allaberdiev immediately ended the call and did not answer subsequent repeated calls.

The editorial team also reached out to the General Prosecutor’s Office, the Human Rights Ombudsman of the Oliy Majlis, and the Ministry of Water Resources for comment. The responsible agencies said they were unaware of the incident and would examine it promptly in accordance with the established procedure. Attempts to contact the information services of Surkhandarya region and Uzun district were unsuccessful. None of the three phone numbers published by the district press service responded, despite the calls being made during working hours.

On the evening of 26 November, Uzun district administration released an official statement on its social media pages, announcing that an internal investigation had been launched against the deputy governor, whose offensive outburst had gone viral.

According to the statement, irrigation water for wheat fields in the district is mainly supplied through pumping stations. For this reason, clear instructions were previously given to ensure efficient and regulated use of water resources.

The preliminary inquiry found that some farmers and employees of the water management department had failed to comply with the established procedures, resulting in inefficient use of water resources. Despite repeated warnings, the violations continued, and measures were taken in accordance with the law. The deputy governor's harsh remarks, cited by QALAMPIR.UZ, stemmed from these violations.

“In our country, strict rules of service discipline and ethics apply not only to leaders but to all civil servants. Taking this into account, an internal investigation has been initiated regarding this incident. All details of the situation are currently being examined,” the official statement said.

It is worth noting that such incidents are not new for Uzbekistan. Earlier, reports surfaced about similar behaviour by governors in Asaka, Boyovut, Qoshrabot and Boka districts.