Human Rights House Tbilisi interviewed the local population and tried to find out about the situation.

Robert Bliadze is one of 220 private owners that worked in the market. He has cancer and claims that his health problems started after radioactive remains were left in the territory of the old market. He said the radioactive remains smouldered under the earth and erupted in the sunny weather. ”They removed everything, what was useful in the ground – minerals and gold; they earned billions of lari but left disease and garbage. Now they returned to destroy the central road. 80% of the patients at the Tbilisi Oncological Hospital are from Zestaponi district. They extracted gold from our town but did not spend anything on Zestaponi.”

Irakli Tsakadze has a small shop in the territory of the market. He cannot explain why the road to the market was narrowed and paved with blocks. “Not only me but 80% of the population in Zestaponi is discontented with this. They cut the source of our income. They neither tell about their plans to extract silicon-manganum from here nor about the investor, which might launch some enterprises here. In fact, they oppress us.”

The district governor in Zestaponi, Tariel Tutarashvili, said the district administration offered the private owners to submit their proposals about the future development of the area. He said: “The deposit is state property. The government will announce a bidding competition and the winner investor will have the obligation to consider the interests of the private owners. As for the ecological problems, the environment is controlled by the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources of Georgia.”

The remains under the agricultural market were declared natural deposit about 15-20 years ago and its extraction has been illegal since then. Mr. Tariel openly declared that the district administration was informed about the illegal extraction of the deposit by local private owners. “They extracted deposit from the earth in that trading shop and unfortunately their activities finished lethally. There is underground web in the area that damages the asphalt too. So the municipal board decided to limit the traffic movement in the area to avoid future accidents,” the district governor said.

One of the private owners, which refrained from making his name public, showed a remnant he had taken from the Alloy Factor, which was found in the holes of the former market territory years ago. It looked like a brick and had the color of a construction block. In the past this substance was leaking from the factory in liquid condition and a hard object was created as a result of its welding with other substances. The hard substance had a high level of radiation. Nowadays, you can find dozens of similar hard bricks in the territory of the former market.

The Non-governmental organization “Strong and Healthy Zestaponi” got interested in the ecological situation long time ago. The head of the organization Mamuka Makhatadze believes the interests of the private owners and the ecological situation must be taken into consideration. Local human rights defenders think the problem can be resolved through cooperation with civil society. “This problem is discussed and analyzed voluntarily. They presented conclusions which are very vague. We want everything to be done in accordance to the law and not to burden an already grave ecological situation in the municipality, which might further increase the number of sick people in Zestaponi.”

The aforementioned organization received alarming information from the statistic unit of the Zestaponi district healthcare agency; according to the data number of people with cancer, diseases increased with 80% from 2007 to 2011. “There were 982 oncological patients in 2007 and the number increased yearly – 1023, 1067, 1125 and 1133. It is official statistics from Zestaponi district. Some patients can take medical treatment in Tbilisi. We invited mammologist Giorgi Nemsadze to the district, which said the data collected in Zestaponi were not accurate because almost the same number of patients from Zestaponi received treatment from him in Tbilisi. Those people were not registered in Zestaponi,” the human rights defender said.

The private owner Angi Datiashvili told the monitoring group of Human Rights House Tbilisi that he is afraid the government will demolish the infrastructure in the area and that he will have to deconstruct his shop. Besides that, the territory will lose its value. “These people do not ask the government to give working places to them; they are self-employed, but now they lose this source of income too.”

His older colleague Avtandil Datiashvili is sure that at least 6-7 enterprises working in the district pollute the environment. He claims the situation in the market territory is much more dangerous than the threat coming from the alloy factory. “The Number of mini-alloy factories increased in Zestaponi like mushrooms after rain. There is Kokhi distribution substation and TV-communication substation too. Kvirila River is polluted. Everything damages the health of the local inhabitants.”

Some traders have loans in the bank and their future depends on the enterprises they have in the market territory. Davit Ejibadze said that about 200 owners have loans in the bank. “220 families will lose their income if the market is closed; 200 of them have loans in the bank. If they do not pay their debt, the bank will sell their houses. I personally pay 254 USD per month; I have two children and if they destroy it, I will have nowhere to go to work.”

Konstantine Katamadze from Zestaponi believes that if international organizations get interested in their problems, it will be resolved. “Now we have our last chance to petition to the government. How long should we live on their pre-election promises? The only hope we have is that experts from Red Cross will arrive here.”

The governor of Zestaponi district responded to the complaints of the local inhabitants. He promised that although the license is issued by the central authority, the local administration will do its best to protect the interests of local private owners and request the future investor to provide valid guarantees that the company will execute its obligations properly.

There were 982 patients with cancer in 2007. Afterwards, the number of patients increased as follows: 1023, 1067, 1125 and 1133.

Giorgi Janelidze