Quarry appears overnight in southern town, locals outraged

(Patria) - In the village of Blaževići near Grude, close to Krenica Lake, locals were met with a sight that, as they say, shocked them – a hill that was part of untouched nature until yesterday has been turned into a quarry.

This was all done in one day – say concerned locals to Bljesak.info, emphasizing that the intervention has already permanently damaged the visual landscape around the lake.

Locals state that the initial agreement was that the stone from the site would be used exclusively for the completion of the Bobanova Draga – Blaževići road section, which has been in poor condition and closed since September last year. Because of this, residents are forced to use a significantly longer route via Drinovci and Sovići to get to Grude.

However, as they claim, the road works are currently stalled, while the stone is being sorted and transported to other locations.

Apart from the damage, locals gain no benefit from the newly formed quarry. Only the company carrying out the excavation benefits – they state.

The editorial office requested answers from the company performing the excavation as a subcontractor – including whether they have a concession and the necessary permits – but no official response has been received.

The investor of the project for the construction of the mentioned section is the Public Institution Roads of West Herzegovina Canton (ZHK). The director of the institution, Vinko Romić, states that the company performing the excavation is a subcontractor and that it is understood that the procurement of materials must be legal.

We issue a public call and specify the project items, but we do not delve into where the contractor will procure the material from. That is solely their responsibility, and it is understood that everything must be legal – said Romić.

He added that the institution cannot influence where the contractor procures the stone or what they do with the material if it is taken to other locations.

At the request of the locals, Tomislav Bandić, HRS representative in the ZHK Assembly, also visited the location.

The locals agreed to the removal of material for road construction, but according to their claims, the stone is now being transported to other locations. It is clear that the investor does not have a permit for a quarry, nor has a concession been issued – said Bandić.

He announced that he will request an urgent reaction and suspension of works from the ZHK Inspectorate Administration, and if that does not happen, he says, he will report the case to the federal inspectorate.

Speaking about the completion of works on the Bobanova Draga – Blaževići section, Romić emphasizes that the dynamics depend on financial resources.

We cannot finish everything overnight. These are roads that have not been invested in for decades. We have already done a large part of the work, but for completion, we will likely need to secure additional funds – he said.

He added that he will visit the site and try to ensure at least the road's passability in the shortest possible time, emphasizing that property-legal relations and project changes have slowed down the deadlines.