Historic site in Tashkent suffers massive damage from illegal excavation

Damage totaling 31.5 billion soums was caused to a historical monument in Tashkent due to the unauthorized laying of a sewage pipe through its territory. This was reported by the Prosecutor General's Office of Uzbekistan.

According to the report, during one of the control measures, a specialized enterprise installed a 257-meter-long sewage pipe through the area of the "Khonobodtepa" archaeological monument, which dates back to the 6th–15th centuries. As a result, 961 cubic meters of the monument were damaged, causing an estimated loss of 27 billion soums.

In addition, the enterprise used an excavator to dig up an additional 160 cubic meters of the monument, causing an additional 4.5 billion soums in damage.

A criminal case has been initiated against the officials of the enterprise in connection with the incident, and control measures are ongoing.

It should be recalled that earlier inspections in several areas of the Tashkent region revealed that 342 billion soums in total damage had been caused to 13 historical monuments.