Kindergartens, schools, UNSA: Will classes be held in Sarajevo Canton due to water shortage?

During yesterday's extraordinary session of the Sarajevo Canton Assembly, where the current water supply situation was discussed, statements from MPs could be heard, warning that as a consequence, infections could occur among schoolchildren, writes Patria agency.

Given that parts of Sarajevo remain without water during the day, schools and kindergartens are in a particularly difficult situation, where the possibility of infection occurring and spreading is greatest. Going to the toilet when there is no water is a nightmare for both children and educators. It can be said that the hygienic conditions for children to stay are not met in this situation. Stomach problems are already appearing among children, and doctors are internally linking this to water outages. They do not want to speak about it publicly.

Parents are putting bottles of water in their children's school bags so they at least have something to drink during classes.

The shocking fact is that kindergarten teachers are openly telling parents whose children attend kindergartens that they have no water and that they have been wiping children with wet wipes after they use the toilet!

Another problem will appear very soon when the new academic year begins, especially at faculties and institutes where practical classes are conducted, such as the group of natural sciences and mathematics and biotechnical sciences, and the group of medical sciences.

The academic year begins at the start of October, but if there are no conditions for holding classes, the entire educational process will be called into question. The Student Parliament of UNSA, headed by Merim Serdarević, has been silent about this for months, but they were very vocal in demanding an additional September exam period and professor evaluations. The most basic thing students need, conditions for classes, are not a subject of interest for the current leadership of SPUS.

While sporadic warnings about possible but real consequences can be heard, the cantonal government, led by Sarajevo Canton Prime Minister Elmedin Konaković, is only concerned with replacing the management of ViK (Public Utility Company Water and Sewerage). The measures proposed by the Government to improve the water supply situation in Sarajevo will not be easy to implement, and Konaković said that he takes full responsibility for all the processes being undertaken.

- I am not asking anyone to share that responsibility with me - said the Prime Minister.

However, who will take responsibility if infections occur among schoolchildren, an epidemic of stomach viruses, and other health problems caused by the lack of water among Sarajevo residents.

The lives of Sarajevans have been reduced to rationing, and they keep filled bottles and canisters on standby. Like in the worst state of siege.