Story By: Anna Guran, Sub Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Central European News

Video Credit: CEN/Mas Kieubala

These photographs of traffic lights attached to a utility pole with sticky tape in Borat’s homeland of Kazakhstan have got netizens chuckling online.

Rinat Abdulkhalikov took the pictures after spotting the unusual sight in the country’s biggest city of Almaty and shared them on Facebook.

He said the traffic lights – at a busy junction – were working despite the precarious way they were fixed to the utility pole.

Pictures Credit: CEN/@Rinat Abdulkhalikov

The images sparked a lively debate with most online commentators apparently unsurprised by the sight.

‘Stepan Afanasyevich’ said: “This is Kazakhstan, baby! There is nothing surprising here, this is a local way of mounting! We have cars and houses and various devices all held together with scotch tape, electrical tape and wires!”

‘Erzhan’ agreed: “For some reason I am not surprised!!!”, and ‘Nicole’ added: “Owners of expensive cars, beware! One fine moment this traffic light will fly on to your bonnet!”

A separate video later showed workmen removing the traffic lights which had reportedly been temporarily repaired with the sticky tape after being damaged by road workers.

Yerlan Tustikbayev, director of SMEU Almaty, the firm responsible for the lights, said: “According to the information that came to us, the lights were knocked off by an excavator, and then attached with Scotch tape. 

“Our specialists have been and have already installed a new traffic light on the previous mount.”

Almaty was Kazakhstan’s capital until 1997 when it was replaced by Astana.

Borat was a 2006 satirical mockumentary film co-written and produced by British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen who plays a fictitious, bumbling Kazakh journalist.

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