“Do Not Poison us!” – Argveti Residents Protested with this Slogan

On January 24, population of Argveta village in Zestaponi district held one more protest assembly near the so-called small Ferroalloy Factory. The population requested to stop working of the factory because the smoke coming from the factory damages their health.

“NO to Cancer hearths! Do not poison us! We want life!” the rally was held under these slogans.

“We are poisoned with this smoke every day. Two young people died of cancer in our village within one week time. Zestaponi has turned into a zone of disaster, into a small Chernobyl. This problem has been urgent for many years and we hope the new government will pay attention to it,” said participant of the rally.

Factory director Avtandil Kochadze said the factory works in accordance to all standards and it does not release any harmful substance; it is proved by the evaluation document on the impact on the environment issued by the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources.

Factory engineers said modern, German filter system was already installed in the factory and it will start working in two weeks. However, local population does not believe them and request relevant institutions to react on their problem.

Mari Tabidze, Zestaponi