AZE.US
AĞ Party chairman Tural Abbasli has blamed Baku’s recurring flood chaos on years of reckless urban policy, saying the city is now paying the price for decisions that destroyed its natural and transport infrastructure.
Speaking on Musavat TV, Abbasli argued that the crisis has been building for years and is now worsening rapidly. In his view, the problem is no longer limited to bad weather alone. He said uncontrolled construction, poor drainage, and the removal of basic urban systems have left many parts of the capital unable to cope even with predictable pressure.
Abbasli said the cost of correcting those mistakes is now enormous. According to his argument, expanding roads or rebuilding proper drainage in densely built-up areas would require demolishing apartment blocks and spending tens of millions of manats on resettlement.
He also accused state bodies of intruding into people’s private lives when it comes to inspections, fines and utility controls, while failing to respond properly when residents are left trapped in flooded neighborhoods.
A large part of his criticism was directed at former Baku mayor Hajibala Abutalybov. Abbasli said past city policies destroyed roadside water channels and tram lines that, in his view, could have helped ease some of today’s infrastructure and transport pressures.
He argued that Baku now urgently needs functioning drainage systems, relief from traffic overload, affordable housing for young people and legal solutions for undocumented homes, rather than continued chaotic development.
Abbasli’s broader point was that what residents are experiencing today is not simply a natural disaster. He framed it as the outcome of years of mismanagement, unchecked construction and a city planning model that ignored how people actually live.