Citizens of Lukavac have been waiting for drinking water to flow from their taps for three decades

(Patria) - Citizens of Lukavac have been waiting for three decades for what should be a basic human right - drinking water.

Generations of residents of this town have been carrying water in canisters for years, buying it or seeking it from nearby springs, while the water that often comes from the taps is not fit for drinking.

Although they have heard promises for years, a concrete step forward is now visible for the first time. The first tenders have been announced for the start of construction of a water treatment plant, and city authorities claim this is a historic project for Lukavac.

Carrying water in buckets and canisters has been a daily routine for many citizens of Lukavac for more than 30 years. While other cities take drinking water from the tap for granted, the people of Lukavac are still waiting for the basic condition of a dignified life.

Citizens say that bills arrive regularly, but drinking water is still not available.

- I have lived in the city for 40 years, it is always the same. The water is dirty. When you go to shower, you watch to see if it will be heard. When it heats up in the boiler, it stinks, how else can I put it. And we pay, it seems to me it says on the bill, drinking water. That doesn't exist anywhere - says Lukavac citizen Esad Cibrić.

After years of promises, the Lukavac City Administration claims the project has finally been moved from a standstill.

The first tender worth 1.22 million euros has been announced for the start of work on the future drinking water plant. The first phase includes site preparation, access roads, and construction of infrastructure for the future facility.

- This is a path on which no one can stop us, we must finish it. We have secured finances, the permits for the project are almost complete, we have the project-technical documentation. Now it is only up to us to implement it.

Whether it will be in a year or three, it will certainly happen. From this point of view, may we only be alive and healthy. It is up to us to just implement it - emphasizes the head of the water supply team of the City of Lukavac, Eldar Čajić.

The total value of the complete water supply system is estimated at around 30 million marks. The project involves the City of Lukavac, the Government of Tuzla Canton, as well as international financial institutions.

- The most important project in my life. I dare say that today, while I still do not know whether I will see it or finish it. We have dedicated ourselves to this project in the greatest possible way, and it is unacceptable that we have brought ourselves into this situation - says the Mayor of Lukavac, Edin Delić, reports BHRT.

Unfortunately, many citizens of Lukavac never lived to see drinking water. But, like everything in this country, water as a basic human right is now becoming an administrative issue.

- Usually when I go and when I am angry with these agencies, I say: 'Do you know what it means for a pensioner to carry drinking water up the stairs for a month longer? Do you know that some people will not live to see drinking water because you have dragged something out for a month' - states Delić.

Support for the project, they say in Lukavac, exists regardless of political differences.

- I think that on such matters, such as water, and there are many similar things, there is no room for any division. Of course, it should have been unified and unanimous.

I expect on some things there may be different political interpretations, perhaps some differences. But on these matters, vital for citizens, there is no room for differences - says the Chairman of the Lukavac City Council, Midhat Sarajlić.

Thus, after three decades of waiting, the hope that drinking water will finally flow from the taps is perhaps closer today than ever before.