Kyrgyz Town in Bad Odour

Jyldyz Joroeva reports from the town of Talas, where a recently reopened sewage treatment plant is angering people in the surrounding area, who say the stench is unbearable, and potentially a health risk.



Oria Sultanova, the head doctors with the municipal hygiene service, says the plant is essential for public health. If people do not like the smell, she says, they should either learn to put up with it, or go away and live somewhere else.



Talas water official Shamil Akmatov argues that it is too early to judge the success of the plant following the refurbishment launched in 2005. But he says that realistically, it is always going to smell.