The authorities of the Atyrau region in Kazakhstan have faced criticism on social media for planning horse racing events amidst severe flooding. According to a post on the Telegram channel EGOV.PRESS, the Atyrau region authorities announced a competition for horse racing events called "Ұлы дала тұлпары" and allocated 54.5 million tenge for it during the floods. The competition, initiated by the Department of Physical Culture, Sports, and Tourism of the Atyrau region, was part of a state-social order for organizing interregional competitions. The press service of the Atyrau region authorities clarified that the competition was planned before the state of emergency was declared and that the initiator has applied for its cancellation due to the current circumstances.
The procurement was initially published on March 20, 2024, before the state of emergency was announced in the Atyrau region. Changes were made to the competition documentation following a discussion protocol, with the acceptance of applications scheduled to start on April 9, 2024. However, due to the state of emergency, the customer is canceling the procurement based on the existing law on public procurement. All state institutions in the region have been informed of the suspension of similar public procurements. The state of emergency in the Atyrau region was declared on April 7. Deputy Akim of Atyrau, Nurzhan Ermukhanov, addressed rumors about evacuation announcements in the city on April 15.
