The video from Tsermer reminded about the problem of impassable roads in the mountains of Dagestan.

The problem of poor roads in the mountainous areas of Dagestan has been relevant for a long time, but officials do not make the necessary efforts to solve it, residents of the republic pointed out, commenting on a social media video showing how villagers carried a seriously ill patient from the village of Tsermer in the Charodinsky district for almost a kilometer on stretchers to the doctors.

As reported by "Caucasian Knot", residents of the Charodinsky district had to carry a seriously ill fellow villager for almost a kilometer along mountain roads to the doctors.

The video showing how villagers carried a seriously ill resident of the village of Tsermer to the doctors on stretchers was posted on Instagram*-public tut.dagestan on July 10, which has about 1.6 thousand followers. As of 10:20 MSK on July 11, this post gained more than 12 thousand likes and 727 comments. Most of the authors linked the difficulties in evacuating the patient to the destroyed roads and the transport inaccessibility of mountain villages.

"We live as if in the Stone Age. Civilization is not about us," said person0608.

"It's just terrible! This happens when 80 percent of the budget goes into pockets, and the rest is just for show on roads... No water, no electricity," wrote user avto_garant_017.

"Look at how our people live, what terrible bridges. Built in the 18th century," stated naira96498.

"It's been almost 15 years since we moved... and our roads are a separate topic. It's a nightmare, there's nowhere to put a foot. We don't know what sidewalks are. In the mountainous areas, people are forced to live without electricity for weeks," noted ibragimova_cosmetologist.

Users criticized the relevant organizations and officials. "The authorities watch as our people survive," wrote patimat84123.

"Why is there complete inaction from the officials of Dagestan? If they don't help, why are they needed?" asked rumisa29017.

"Where are the authorities looking? Anyone can sit in an office. Why should people suffer?" questioned kosmos123_1.

A separate topic of discussion concerned hospitals and medical assistance in mountainous areas.

"In the mountainous areas, hospitals are being closed instead of opening them," wrote kurban_kulizanov.

"If doctors were paid a decent salary, people would come and work in the villages. Funds could be allocated to build a proper hospital in every village," believes candleroom_z.

"The fact that there are no medical points in villages or they are being closed is terrible," noted magomedova_fatima.12.

Comment authors also noted that residents are forced to solve their problems themselves. "As always, we will pull ourselves out, we will help ourselves," wrote ismailova.mg.

"Our poor people do everything themselves, all by their own strength," noted mikailmikailov77.

"Poor people! How can this be? Why is the people everywhere and anywhere on their own? Where is that help?" emphasized askhab.

"Caucasian Knot" also reported that residents of highland villages in Dagestan have repeatedly complained about difficulties due to the lack of a road. For example, on January 16, 2022, residents of Khushet had to carry a pregnant woman on stretchers through the mountains to a neighboring settlement, who needed hospitalization. After the woman was discharged from the hospital, villagers took her home through the mountains in a construction cart. Social media users who watched the video about this were outraged by the indifference of officials to the problem of the lack of air ambulance and road to Khushet.

Residents of the village of Khutrah in the Tsuntinsky district faced a similar problem. On February 9, 2023, an ambulance could not reach a sick resident of the village of Khutrah, and villagers had to carry the woman on stretchers along a snow-covered road.

Cases where residents of highland villages are forced to carry someone in need of medical assistance on stretchers due to impassable roads occur almost every year, political scientist Albert Esedov previously told a correspondent of "Caucasian Knot". "Infrastructure problems are identified – the lack of medical points in hard-to-reach settlements, the inability to provide the necessary equipment for transporting those in need of medical assistance to medical institutions. Unfortunately, only the publicity of such facts somehow solves the problem," he noted.