Sherzod Salikhov, the governor of Chinaz district in Uzbekistan, has come under fire after ordering that homes and neighborhoods deemed unkempt be labeled with signs reading 'Shameful Home' and 'Shameful Neighborhood'. A video showing the governor issuing this directive was posted on the district administration's official channel on June 27, but was quickly removed after a wave of public criticism.

In a comment to Daryo, Salikhov claimed that no one had instructed him to categorize neighborhoods in this way, and that it was his own initiative. 'This is my personal initiative. At the end of the meeting, I said that if you don't complete the tasks, this is what will happen. But it was never implemented anywhere. The banner was put up and immediately taken down. It was only filmed for social media. I didn't hang it on any home or neighborhood. We hung it, showed it, and took it back down as a warning,' he explained.

Salikhov stated that the goal of the initiative was to 'awaken the people' and encourage them to improve their surroundings as part of the 'Relevant 40 Days' campaign. He insisted that he did not intend to humiliate the neighborhood activists, but rather to support and unite them. 'Everyone interprets this differently. But those who criticize will understand the situation if they ever become a governor and work with the people. We didn't enter anyone's home by force; we conducted explanatory work. If this is seen as a form of agitation, I think that would be the correct interpretation. Perhaps it was a bit crude, I admit,' he said.

The governor also acknowledged that everyone makes mistakes and offered an apology. 'Maybe I was a bit too harsh somewhere. Only God is without sin. If we are at fault, we will apologize. If we are on the right path, we will continue our work,' he said.

It is worth noting that in early August, local officials, including governors and neighborhood heads, accompanied by police officers, conducted inspections of private homes, examining courtyards, living rooms, and kitchens. In some cases, they even checked inside refrigerators and cooking pots. These actions were explained as part of preparations for Uzbekistan's Independence Day, celebrated on September 1.

Source: www.gazeta.uz