The Bishkek City Hall proposes to fine and arrest those who burn old tires and rags for heating. Vice Mayor of the capital Aziz Alymkulov announced at a meeting of the Standing Committee on Housing and Communal Services of the Bishkek City Council during discussion of the problem of smog and the fight against it.

He noted that it was necessary to toughen the punishment for violators at the legislative level.

«Until we begin to close those who burn tires, rags and other things like this, their number will not reduce,» he said.

Aziz Alymkulov clarified that this concerns not ordinary citizens, but industrial facilities, bath houses, saunas, and so on.

Chairman of the committee, Zhumabek Salymbekov, agreed with the vice mayor, but offered not to arrest immediately, but to fine. He also criticized the work of the City Hall in the fight against smog, because they do not submit proposals to the Bishkek City Council to solve the problem. Zhumabek Salymbekov admitted that he was surprised that the problem with air pollution had been discussed in the Parliament for four hours the day before.

«The smog problem can be solved at the city level. The work of the City Hall is poor,» he said.