Lack of Burial Ground in Mestia

There is currently no new cemetery in Mestia and there isn’t any more burial ground available in the old cemetery. The local citizens are asking for more land.

The existing cemetery that has been used for seven family generations should have been abolished a long time ago. The cemetery is situated in the center of Mestia, around the St. George Monastry area. There are no more burial plots. People have to dig into the ground and remove preexisting bones in order to bury the dead. Then they collect the bones and bury them again.

Nugzar Niguriani from Mestia said, “There is no more space in the cemetery and there is nothing else we can do. Two hundred people have requested more land from Mestia’s government. The former governor, Nino Japaridze, promised to answer our request. We even found suitable land. However, the governor was replaced and the matter was never solved.’’

The land that was selected by the residents is situated in Riye. It would be necessary to transport soil there and install necessary drainage systems. Niguriani stated that there is currently an airport being built in Mestia and therefore is an abundance of soil that could be used for the cemetery. “The new cemetery would need 10000 square meters of soil and two drainage pipes.’’

The old cemetery is so full at this time that it blocks the path to the Monastery.

Nugzar Niguriani: “The bishop asked us to give them the path going to the Monastry. We didn’t want people to have difficulty in going to the church and we cleared the pathway of  headstones even though many of our friends are buried there.’’
Svaneti doesn’t have much available land and it’s hard to find the proper grounds for a cemetery.

Bishop Ilarion (Qitiashvili): “The cemetery located on the grounds of the St. George Church should be abolished. People are currently being forced to remove bones of the dead in order to bury those who have passed recently. This is not a Christian tradition. This is not acceptable. The cemetery should be abolished and new land should be given or bought.’’

The governor of Mestia, Gocha Chelidze, says that he is informed about the need of a new cemetery and it’s on the government’s agenda. However, there are currently no funds allocated for a new cemetery in the budget.

Gocha Chelidze: “The local people came to me five months ago and I asked them to select the land. They never showed up. Riye, the place they choose, is not appropriate. It’s too expensive to bring soil there. The land is free but we will need too much petrol. Only if there’s no other way would we use that land.’’

Gocha Chelidze thinks that buying land from the private citizens for a cemetery should be considered. The local government has yet to proceed with any action in this direction.