On June 28, 2005, residents of Tskhvarostavi and Ninotsminda held a protest demanding that the oil company Canargo Georgia compensate them for health problems and property damage allegedly caused by a major oil and gas blowout the previous year.

The incident had occurred on September 10, 2004, when a large amount of oil and gas erupted from well No. 100 in the village of Ninotsminda, Sagarejo district. The uncontrolled gusher was sealed only three days later. Specialists from the Ministry of Environment and the Nuclear Service inspected the site and declared radiation levels normal, but locals rejected the findings, claiming that illness and death rates had sharply increased in the area since the spill.

Residents reported a rise in cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, skin ulcers, and vision problems. “Every week, someone in our neighborhood dies — those of us still alive look at each other wondering who’s next,” said Dariko Ivaniashvili, a Ninotsminda resident attending the June 2005 protest.

Villagers alleged that doctors, under pressure from the company and regional health authorities, concealed diagnoses related to the oil spill. The Kakheti Regional Health Department denied this, acknowledging that residents had health issues from oil exposure but claiming there was “no cause for alarm.”

Government and company representatives — including officials from the Ministry of Environment, the Hygiene Institute, the regional administration, and Canargo Georgia director Niko Tevzadze — visited the village to defuse tensions. Tevzadze insisted the company had provided compensation and health insurance through Aldagi, but locals argued the policies did not cover necessary treatments.

Regional health official Gaga Ghambashidze promised to review medical statistics and adjust the insurance coverage to include the actual diseases affecting residents.

Villagers also accused the company of causing a recent flood by blocking the Gogilos River to allow oil transport vehicles to pass. When heavy rain hit, the artificial dams caused flooding that contaminated the village’s drinking water with oil. “For two weeks, we’ve been using oil-mixed water — things are getting worse,” resident Natela Ivaniashvili told 24 Saatinewspaper.

The June 28 protest lasted several hours and turned tense. One resident, Marika Sukhishvili, fainted after being diagnosed with high benzene levels in her blood by a German clinic. Protesters demanded Canargo Georgia leave the area.

Tevzadze maintained that compensation would only be paid if residents presented official medical reports and court rulings. He claimed the company had already allocated 875,000 GEL for crop and land damage, though villagers said they had received nothing. The president’s regional envoy, Petre Tsiskarishvili, intervened to calm the crowd, and the protest eventually dispersed.

The villagers continued their legal battle, filing a lawsuit demanding 29 million GEL in damages. In 2007, the Tbilisi City Court initially granted an ecological examination, but the decision later disappeared from the case file. After exhausting all domestic legal channels, in 2011, 2,420 affected residents submitted their complaint to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg — though no further updates on the case have been reported.