Police to disperse Namakhvani HPP campers after man drowns in Rioni River
Claiming that the construction of the HPP poses threat to environment, locals and activists have set up tents close the construction site. Photo: Tata Kachkachishvili/RFERL
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The Georgian Interior Ministry has announced that the tents of activists protesting the construction of the Namakhvani hydro power plant (HPP) in the western Georgian region of Imereti will be removed after a man drowned in Rioni River yesterday.
The ministry justified the move by noting that increased rainfall in the coming days may cause flooding in the area where protesters have pitched tents.
Rescuers are trying to find the body of a 30-year-old man who went into the Rioni River on April 10.
It happened so unexpected. Two men were standing near the river when one of them gave his phone to another, jumped into the river and swam”, one of the protesters, Marita Museliani, told the Georgian service of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFERL).
She said that police was also watching how several people asked the man to come out of the water, but in vain.
He was swimming and the water took him away”, she said explaining that the man and his friend had joined the protesters a couple of days before the incident.
RFERL notes in its report that it is not clear how the two friends managed to get into the Namakhvani village where the movement has been restricted since April 3.
The interior ministry has stated today that it has decided to remove the tents ‘from the dangerous zone’ and evacuate the citizens ‘to a safe place’ to avoid the further threat and ensure the safety of the protesters.
However, activists protesting the construction of Namakhvani HPP claim that the reason behind the decision to remove their tents is ‘artificial’.