Village Sulda
Sulda village is located 18 km from the city of Akhalkalaki. The inhabitants are engaged in animal husbandry and agriculture.
Veronika Abajyan is my grandma. She is 55 years old and lives in the village of Sulda.
Since there is no water in Sulda, grandma fills a large container with a bucket so that we have water inside.
There has been a problem of drinking water in Sulda village of Akhalkalaki municipality for decades. For years, government officials have been coming to Sulda during the pre-election period with promises to provide drinking water to the residents of Sulda, but there is no visible result until now.
The only drinkable spring of the village is 400 meters away. And people walk to the spring and carry water every day not to be thirsty.
400 M
In winter, as the water freezes, we also use melted water from the roof, that grandma collects from the gutters for washing purposes.
However, now the year 2023 is ending and the village still has no water.But the works of organizing drinking water pumping station, have started. According to the contract, the works should complete in October of 2023. But it is not over yet.But after completing the pump reservoir, water will not still available for the village, as they should plan and construct pipelines.
Many promises have been made over the years to solve the Sulda water problem. For example, in the 2020 pre-election brochure of the majority MP Samvel Manukyan, one of the first in the list of priority infrastructure projects for 2020-2024 was the Sulda water issue. Also, in the 2021 election program of the mayor of Akhalkalaki, it is stated that in 2021-2022, the restoration of the drinking water pipeline of the village of Sulda would be either completed or in the process of implementation.
Regulation of the water system in the village of Kartsakhi (411,342 GEL) and repair of the water well in the village of Sulda (500,000 GEL). Source: Factcheck
In the 2020-21 pre-election program of the Georgian Dream, it is mentioned that 169,244 GEL is planned to be spent on the rehabilitation/restoration of the drinking water pipeline of Sulda village within the framework of the "Development for all regions" project. However, now the year 2023 is ending and the village still has no water.
In summer, our water, which is not suitable for drinking, comes only every 2 days, for 2-3 hours, although if it does not rain in the mountains, the arrival of water can be delayed. And in winter, the water comes every 7-10 days. But since the water has a pressure problem and the pipes are installed shallowly, we may not have water at all due to freezing. And whether they want it or not, they take the water from the neighboring villages or the city by car.
The gas supply problem &
Manure process
There is also no gas in Sulda. To keep warm in winter, residents buy wood and make manure. And to cook food, they use either propane gas or an electric stove.
Wood stove
Electric stove
Because of the difficulties many families left the village and migrated. According to the 2014 census, 726 people lived in Sulda.
Number of the inhabitants here decrease every year as many families lock their doors and leave the village
Men and women go to work abroad and no longer want to return to their native village.
Since Sulda is on the road leading to the Turkish border, trucks are constantly passing through here.
Until August 2021, there were no rubber speed bumps in Sulda.
In 2021, an accident occurred in Sulda, when a truck hit an 8-year-old girl. Fortunately, the girl was saved. The villagers protested, blocked the road, and on the same day, rubber speed bumps were installed.
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Such cases happened a lot in Sulda. Once, the truck gave a sound signal to an old men while riding a horse, the horse spooked and the men fell off the horse.
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When the Vale checkpoint is closed, the road to Sulda gets divided into two parts, as trucks line up near the village of Chamdura (Chamdzvrala) with the length of approx. 17+ km (as for 18.06.2023)
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11.11.2023 (17+ km)
The villagers hope that their problems will finally be solved in the elections to be held in 2024.
Thanks for attention<<<
