On August 24, 2015, residents from several villages in the Mestia municipality blocked the Khaishi–Chuberi connecting road for almost an entire day. They were demanding employment opportunities, repairs to the Khaishi–Chuberi road, and the addition of more ambulance vehicles. Protesters blocked the road with stones and cars, disrupting traffic. Tourists traveling from Svaneti toward Zugdidi expressed frustration over the paralysis of movement, while the Svans voiced dissatisfaction with the neglect shown by both local and central authorities.

According to Chuberi resident Gari Chkhvimiani, tenders for repairing the seven-kilometer Khaishi–Chuberi road had been announced for three years, yet no winning company had been selected. Another protester, Elvard Chkadua, said that the Svans mainly earned their living from logging and selling timber, but the authorities had banned this activity, worsening their social conditions.

Residents also complained about the insufficient number of ambulances serving Mestia’s villages, which often caused delays in emergency response and endangered patients’ lives.

Mestia municipality head Kapiton Zhorzholiani met with the protesters and said that work had already begun on resolving the listed issues, which would be addressed gradually. He explained that illegal logging was regulated by law and that relevant ministries were studying Svaneti’s forest areas to determine zones where licensed timber harvesting would be permitted.

According to Zhorzholiani, Mestia municipality had been allocated only two ambulances, which, by law, were meant to serve the hospital rather than village clinics. Despite efforts, the municipality had not been granted permission to reassign ambulances to rural medical centers. He maintained that residents were informed about ongoing work on these issues, making the reasons for the protest unclear to him.