Bandits Blast A Bridge In Pankisi Gorge

Last night in the Akhmeta district in the east of Georgia bandits, who feel at home in the Pankisi gorge, blasted a motor road bridge leading to the Khodori hydroelectric station which is being built in this mountain area by Chinese power workers, deputy of the Akhmeta district Revaz Arveladze said at a session of the Georgian parliament on Tuesday. He said that the Chinese workers had completed the project only a few days ago. Eduard Shevardnadze, President of Georgia, assured that construction of the hydropower facility was an indication that the situation in the Pankisi gorge was normal and there were no bandits or Chechen terrorists there. Now all see it is the other way around. Parliamentary chairperson Nino Burdzhaladze called on the Georgian law-enforcement organs immediately to take up the case and discover the culprits. On information from the Georgian Ministry for Fuel and Energy, Chinese specialists have begun to determine the size of the damage done by the explosion. They are going to rehabilitate the bridge and continue construction of the hydro. The hydraulic power station is being reared on the mountain river Khodori, tributary of the Alazani river in the Pankisi gorge.