Citizens against the construction of a hydroelectric power plant in Krupa na Vrbasu

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - The announcement by the management of "Hidroelektrane na Vrbasu" that the construction of the Krupa hydroelectric power plant is planned has once again alarmed ecologists, as well as the residents of Krupa na Vrbasu.

The initiative for construction was thwarted in 2018, when 36 environmental organizations from the Coalition for Vrbas reacted against the construction, and the then mayor of Banja Luka did not give a positive opinion.

Whether it will get the green light this time will be decided by the majority in the Banja Luka City Assembly, writes BHRT.

Krupa na Vrbasu is 25 kilometers from Banja Luka, adorned with the clean Vrbas river, a canyon, old mills, and waterfalls. Nada Stanojević believes that this place should be declared a National Park, not destroyed by building a mini hydroelectric power plant.

"An individual is provided with a living and work, only to destroy an entire place, the entire Banja Luka, which drinks water from the Vrbas river, meaning they will destroy it, and you will hear from the residents that they no longer have fruit and that vegetables grow poorly, and the ones that have already been built have an impact," emphasizes Stanojević.

Residents are divided regarding the announced construction of the hydroelectric power plant in Krupa.

"I am against it, because when they build the power plant, they will close us in, we will have no water. What will happen to us, will they displace us, where to, where. No one thinks about us. We have to fend for ourselves for someone else's pocket," says resident Marinko Marković.

"They are also good for natural disasters, when it rains, when there are floods, there are fewer chances of flooding if there are more obstacles than one," states resident Đurađ Vukoman.

With the construction of Bočac 2, the residents of Krupa are already feeling the consequences, and the construction of a hydroelectric power plant next to their homes will cause a catastrophe. It will damage the natural environment, water, and air, say the Coalition for Vrbas. Fishermen are also strictly against it.

"All sports activities such as kayaking and rafting, which bring income to the city of Banja Luka and are significant for the development of tourism and tourist potentials, will be impossible. After that, climate change occurs, because the accumulation itself changes microclimatic conditions," explains Jelena Ivanić from the Coalition for Vrbas.

"We are absolutely against any construction of hydroelectric power plants. It would mean a lot of bad things for the Vrbas river, it would mean a reduction in the fish population in the Vrbas, a change in climate, and we will be absolutely against it and will use all legitimate rights to be against it and protect our Vrbas," says Dragan Petrušić from the Sport Fishing Club Banja Luka.

In the Ministry of Energy of Republika Srpska, they say that the investor has not completed the Environmental Impact Study, which is why the initiative cannot be sent for further procedure. The City Administration of Banja Luka emphasizes that the interests of citizens and environmental protection are their top priority, but that the final decision is made by the City Assembly.

"Currently, we cannot talk about a yes or no stance, because nothing official has reached us yet, but what we are committed to is that in the coming period we will hold talks with all relevant factors," states Mirna Savić-Banjac from the City Administration of Banja Luka.

The Coalition for Vrbas points out that this canyon part is suitable for self-purification of water, it is an isolated place for rare, endemic species, and it is also a tourist attraction of the city. The construction of the hydroelectric power plant would permanently change the climate for the material benefit of a few individuals.

(BHRT)