Georgian villagers block road to manganese mines

Most of the manganese ore mines have stopped working, because of the protest action launched by residents of the village of Shukruti, who are seeking compensation from the "Georgian Manganese" Company for their damaged houses.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that in November 2019, the protesting Shukruti villagers already blocked the roads used by trucks of the "Georgian Manganese" Company, asserting that the extraction and transportation of manganese ore by the above company damaged their houses and nearby roads. Company officials denied the allegations.

Shukruti villagers would not let trucks with ore, until the "Georgian Manganese" Company fulfils their compensation demands.

Akaki Gogichaishvili, an official from the company, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that as a result of the road blocking, 70% of the mines extracting manganese ore were stopped. According to his version, the houses in Shukruti were damaged back in the Soviet era, which the "Georgian Manganese" Company has nothing to do with; although it is ready to help the villagers. The company asked villagers to hire an audit company to assess the damage. The calculations were made, but Shukruti villagers disagreed with the auditors' conclusions and broke contract with them, Mr Gogichaishvili has explained. "Now they claim unreasonable compensations," said the company source.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on February 18, 2020 at 06:54 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.