In July 1999, a protest rally was held in Dusheti. Locals gathered to protest the unauthorized removal of timber and inert materials from the region. The rally was sparked after a trailer truck carrying around 300 beech logs was stopped by traffic police near Chopo. Although payment for 50 cubic meters had been made to the tax inspection, the driver was found to have a forged permit.

Dusheti council member Giorgi Tsiklauri told the newspaper Droni that “a dire situation has developed: lakes and rivers are being ecologically poisoned, and fish, wildlife, and birds are being ruthlessly destroyed.” Locals said they supported investment and business activity only if the interests of the local population were respected. They demanded that decisions regarding the management of Bazaleti Lake not be made bypassing local councils, but resolved democratically.

Residents were also angered by issues of land privatization, noting that each household was forced to pay between 100 and 300 lari, something that had not occurred in other districts. They also claimed that plots around Bazaleti Lake were being illegally allocated.

The Dusheti protest ended with the adoption of a resolution and the reading of an appeal to the president.