Čović and Galić unresponsive: Children forced to travel 14 km around to go to school via Doljani

(Patria) - Damir Arnaut, a representative in the House of Representatives of the BiH Parliamentary Assembly, has sent an initiative to the Council of Ministers to implement all necessary procedures with the competent authorities of the Republic of Croatia within 10 days of the adoption of this initiative, with the aim of reclassifying the Gabela Polje border crossing.

He explained that children attending school in Croatia are forced to travel to the Doljani border crossing with a 14-kilometer detour.

He commented that Dragan Čović and his associate Zoran Galić have done nothing to alleviate the children's situation.

Arnaut is requesting that this border crossing be reclassified for international passenger traffic or opened for local traffic, and in any case, opened for local traffic for primary and secondary school students.

"Following the outbreak of the COVID pandemic, numerous local border crossings between Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republic of Croatia, including Gabela Polje, were closed for all types of traffic. Although this did not pose a problem during the summer months due to significantly reduced traffic at the Doljani border crossing, residents of border settlements faced numerous problems with the start of the school year due to this situation.

Namely, children living in the immediate vicinity of the Gabela Polje border crossing, who attend school in Metković and surrounding settlements in the Republic of Croatia, are now forced to travel to the Doljani border crossing – which is significantly further from their homes. This not only causes additional congestion at that border crossing but also exposes children and their parents to unnecessary costs, considering that the journey to schools in the Republic of Croatia via the Gabela Polje border crossing is significantly shorter," Arnaut stated.