Campaign Swim Safe – action at the Alazani River, near Tsitelklde

On June 27, the Campaign Swim Safe participant organizations – Human Rights Center, CENN and Progress Center held next action in one of the most dangerous places on the Alazani River near Telavi – so-called Tsitelklde, where many people drowned in the past. 

The Campaign members planned to organize the action at the Tsitelklde during their meeting with the school children, teachers and parents of Telavi public school # 4 on June 6. 

Tsitelklde is artificial recreation zone in Kvareli municipality on the Alazani River, where safety of citizens is not ensured. Nobody has studied yet whether it is safe to swim there or not. 

In the past years, several tragic accidents happened on the embankment of the Tsitelklde, when adults drowned there. In 2014, 15-years-old Ako Silagadze disappeared on that place and his body was not found yet. 

The member organizations of the Campaign Swim Safe call on the Telavi and Kvareli municipality authorities to start concrete activities to examine the place thoroughly to ensure safety of the citizens. First of all, it is necessary to install warning banners for the citizens and to inform them about the risks. 

After the action, the participants went to the Telavi municipality administration, where they met representatives of the local authority and representatives of the municipality mayor in the villages. HRC executive director Aleko Tskitishvili introduced them with the goals of the Campaign Swim Safe and the problems on water bodies in Georgia.

During the meeting, participants discussed the measures to prevent tragedies on the water bodies. The parents had initiative to fund swimming lessons for the children of kindergartens and primary schools from the local budget. Representatives of the mayor in Nafareuli and Kurdgelauri villages spoke about demolished swimming pools in their villages, whose rehabilitation could promote training of the children in swimming. 

Campaign Swim Safe will continue communication with the Telavi public schools and local authority. 

Campaign Swim Safe was launched on July 16, 2018 with the initiative of Ana Dolidze, Human Rights Center, CENN and Progress Center. The Campaign aims to increase responsibility of the Government and raise public awareness. 

The Campaign is supported by the Open Society Georgia Foundation, whose financial assistance made actions and advocacy activities possible both in Tbilisi and in different regions of Georgia.