Public Defender Meets Residents of Nergeeti and Ofurchkheti

Public Defender Levan Ioseliani, his deputy Irine Chikhladze and representatives of the Office met with residents of the village of Nergeeti in Baghdati Municipality and the village of Ofurchkheti in Tskaltubo Municipality.

According to the Office of the Public Defender, at the meetings locals were introduced to the work of the Public Defender and discussed challenges in the field of human rights protection.

Residents of Nergeeti drew attention to problems with access to healthcare services. According to locals, the rehabilitated ambulatory clinic built by the municipality has not yet been put into operation, and the village has no functioning ambulatory clinic. The meeting also highlighted the need for a thorough study of the geological hazards facing the settlement after the landslide processes that developed in 2024. Residents also spoke about the rehabilitation of the school and the arrangement of a playground for children, while for economic development they named the launch of programs supporting agriculture as a priority.

One of the main topics of the meeting in Ofurchkheti was the challenges related to open-pit extraction of granite. Residents point to repeated violations of license conditions and damage caused to the environment, and even link the pollution of drinking water to granite extraction.

Locals also spoke about unstable energy supply. According to them, the reason is frequent damage to the electricity distribution network located in the forest area. Supply interruptions are especially severe in winter and also frequently halt the operation of the local kindergarten.

The Office of the Public Defender will study the issues raised at the meetings based on the information received and will continue working with the relevant agencies to advocate for them.