In Stari Ugljevik, landslides swallow houses and roads

(Patria) - While waiting for the deadline set by the residents of Stari Ugljevik for the authorities, the situation in the landslide-affected area remains critical. People continue to live without electricity, water, and access roads, fearing for their homes.

Have the promises they received been fulfilled - FTV journalists checked on the ground.

Three days after the protest in front of the Ugljevik Municipality, the situation on the ground remains critical. Landslides continue to threaten households, access roads are destroyed, and basic living conditions - electricity, water, and safe access - are still unattainable for many. Every day, every hour, life in this village balances on the edge.

- There is no salvation until someone pays with their life - says an indignant Svetozar Jovanović.

- We are cut off from the world, left to ourselves. We have no road. Collapse! - adds Miladin Tanacković.

Years of waiting and fear

Life in constant fear has become unbearable, and years of waiting have exhausted patience. Residents who no longer accept empty promises send a clear message: the only acceptable solution is urgent remediation or expropriation!

- Landslides take everything, nothing has been paid for this house, and it is destroyed. Simply, they just undermine it. The same for those houses there - nothing has been paid for, and they just destroy them. A new director comes and says "I just arrived", the previous one said "I just arrived". And they drag it on like this, and who pays the price - we do - says Radoslav Jovanović.

Directors change, but the problems remain, RiTE Ugljevik does not have the funds for expropriation. The situation in the company further complicates the situation.
- It is not a small job and a small financial expense to solve overnight. I ask for patience and understanding - says the director of RiTE Ugljevik, Žarko Novaković.

- For this year, the planned funds for RiTE are 212 million marks. There are no funds within these 212 million to carry out expropriation. This means that they are again trying not to reach a solution - points out Jelenko Marinković, a member of the RiTE Ugljevik Workers' Union.

Minister promises, residents skeptical

The long-awaited solution for the concession on the Ugljevik "Istok 2" deposit is announced by the Minister of Energy and Mining of the RS, Petar Đokić (SP), for a few days. However, residents and workers remain deeply skeptical. For years, they say, they have been hearing the same promises.

- This procedure will be completed next Thursday at the Government session. The management and the Concessions Commission are doing what they should, we cannot influence them - they are an organ of the National Assembly of the RS. But we cooperate and expect them to pass an act that will be sent to the Government, which will, based on that, pass a decision that will conclude a new contract and complete the transfer of the concession to RiTE Ugljevik for the "Istok 2" area - says Đokić.

Marinković points out that whenever there is tension, whenever a larger number of citizens raise their voices, such information appears the very next day or the day after.
- They appear, try to calm things down, make some false promises - he points out.

Hopes placed in February 4th

While things are calming down and, as experience shows, not being resolved, life for the residents is not about waiting. All hopes are placed in February 4th, when a decision on urgent remediation or land expropriation should be made, while every day without electricity, water, and safe roads increases the pressure on the local government as well.

- The most important thing for me is to solve the problems of these citizens in some way. Of course, we strive for everything to be within legal frameworks, but it is important for me that the problems of these residents are solved - says Dragan Gajić, head of the Ugljevik Municipality (SNSD).

If the transferred concession becomes the beginning of responsible management and planning, it will be an important step forward. If not, the story will spin in circles again, and the key question of who manages the resources that should serve the people will remain unanswered.