Georgian villagers take BP to court over pipeline damage to homes

A-Info news agency
16 Aug 04

AKHALKALAKI

Residents of the village of Minadze in Georgia’s Akhaltsikhe District,
have expressed their dissatisfaction with representatives of the
Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline.

The reason for the villagers’ dissatisfaction is that grave damage has
been done to their houses, some of which are on the verge of collapse,
by vibrations caused by the movement of heavy vehicles used in the
construction of the pipeline. The villagers are demanding compensation
for the damage, but representatives of BP insist that testing was done
to determine the impact of the heavy vehicles; the level of impact was
defined and it does not have a negative effect on the conditions of
the houses.

Moreover, BP representatives believe that the village houses were on
the verge of collapse before the construction of the pipeline and this
is connected with landslides.

Having been refused compensation, residents of Minadze have gone to
court.