Street Trading Was Prohibited on the Ruisi-Urbnisi Highway

Lado Bitchashvili, Shida Kartli

Part of the traders trading on the Ruisi-Urbnisi distance of the Tbilisi-Senaki-Leselidze Highway rejected the proposal of the Kareli municipal administration. The senior officials of the local self-government offered them to continue training in the trading center constructed by the Company ATU, which belongs to Bidzina Ivanishvili. The latter assigned the semi-open training center to the Kareli municipal administration as a present. 

Kareli district governor said, there are good conditions in the new market while there was anti-sanitary on their handmade counters. At the same time, the safety of the traders was not guaranteed there.

 

“The street trading was prohibited based on the resolution of the government; the local self-government did not pass any other resolution about it. We offer better conditions to the traders, where they will be able to sell their products,” the district governor Zaza Guliashvili said.

The traders from Urbnisi said the new market is inconvenient for them because they will need to travel there by transport. Another issue is that a customer will purposefully visit the market because they will not see the products from the central highway. 

Medea Aslanishvili, the trader: “It is good that they offer us good conditions but there are some differences. In the old place, the passers-by saw our products and stopped cars to buy them. As for the new market, they should purposefully go there. For the residents of Urbnisi village, it is better to go to Gori market and sell our products, moreover when we have to pay service fee in the new market.”

Deputy district governor Zviad Dabrundashvili said the administration will fix the fee only in the amount which will be necessary for keeping the building.

“This trading center was constructed for the people to trade in normal environment without anti-sanitary. The district administration does not plan to get some profit from it; the fees will be fixed only in the amount that is necessary to keep and clean the building,” the deputy governor said.

The Kareli municipal administration several times offered the traders on the Ruisi-Urbnisi part of the central highway to move to the new trading center but they hesitated and continued trading in old places. On February 13, the traders found protection bars on the highway, which will prevent the passengers to approach the counters. The bars were installed in the areas were street trading was carried out on the central highway.