Ten Years Old and No Place to Go

The southern town of Batken has now been the official administrative centre of its own region for a decade, but it has few of the leisure facilities and public spaces that more established urban centres enjoy.

Ten Years Old and No Place to Go

The southern town of Batken has now been the official administrative centre of its own region for a decade, but it has few of the leisure facilities and public spaces that more established urban centres enjoy.

Thursday, 15 October, 2009
IWPR

IWPR

Institute for War & Peace Reporting

Ulukbu Amirova visited Batken, which was just another settlement in the south until the Kyrgyz government carved out a separate Batken Region and put the town of the same name in charge.



Residents say they have very few places to visit in their free time – one park with a few benches, and a couple of monuments. Young people interviewed in the street said they went to internet cafes and a few other places, or stayed home most of the time and did their social networking when they went to the local market at the weekend.



The municipal authorities say they plan to build new leisure areas, and of course fountains, which currently seem to be an obligatory part of urban development plans in Kyrgyzstan.



Kyrgyzstan
Frontline Updates
Support local journalists