Lado Bitchashvili, Shida Kartli
Population of the village Kvemo Artsevi in Gori district requests return of the status of buffer zone to their village. The village residents applied to the local government with the request. Artsevi residents ask the local government to mediate them with the central government.
Village Kvemo Artsevi was removed from the list of buffer zone villages a year ago, for what the local government stopped humanitarian aid for locals. The population handed petition with the signatures to the Gori district governor with the request to return status of buffer zone to the village.
Gori district governor met Artsevi residents. David Oniashvili heard requests of the local population and noted that local government could neither grant nor remove the status of the buffer zone from any territory.
“The issue that bothers population of the Kvemo Artsevi village is within the competence of the central government. We promise to raise the issue with the central government and request them to restore the status for the bhorder village so that local population still received assistance,” said David Oniashvili.
According to the lawyer at the Gori district administration Revaz Gogiashvili, the State Ministry of Georgia for Reconciliation and Civic Equality removed the status of buffer zone from Kvemo Artsevi. The representatives of the district administration promised villagers to send a petition to the Ministry and attach signatures of the local residents to it.
During the meeting, residents of Kvemo Artsevi village also asked representatives of the local government to keep their promise about reimbursement the damage they received as a result of natural disaster. As locals said hail destroyed their harvest. Although the Commission evaluated the damage caused by the disaster, villagers did not receive any compensation yet. District governor said the natural disaster affected 40 villages, and the local budget cannot afford to reimburse the total loss of the local population. As David Oniashvili said, after the commission prepared the conclusion about the damage, the central budget had to allocate relevant funds but he does not know why the transfer was delayed last year.