In Serbia, days of mourning again, innocent victims, evasion of responsibility and sweeping under the carpet. The fall of the canopy at the entrance to the twice-reconstructed railway station in Novi Sad, the value of which was 65 million euros, of which 16 million was just for the building, killed 14 people.
From the first minute of this tragedy, the government and its media, one after the other, have been repeating that this canopy was not the subject of a double reconstruction. Crisis management only managed to offer this as a salvation for something for which the government is surely the most responsible. And all of this could have happened if there was no Internet, although they tried diversion there as well. From various pro-regime portals, but also from certain institutions, such as the Tourist Organization of Novi Sad, headlines and texts that stated that the railway station in Novi Sad "got a new steel canopy" suddenly disappeared. Such a thing has never happened before.
What is the truth?
There isn't a government representative who didn't catch on to that story, and then also the entire media, which all these years have been serving, not the truth, but propaganda. From a reporter to the president of the country. And what is the truth? She certainly talks about the fact that the canopy that collapsed on Friday got a new look during the reconstruction of the Railway Station.
The footage from six years ago, which is full of social media, is very different from how the canopy looked from the last reconstruction of the station until November 1. At first glance, apart from the fact that it is beautified with paint, it is noticeable to the naked eye that glass has been placed on the existing canopy. Construction engineer Danijel Dašić claims that the demolition occurred "because they added a massive steel structure with heavy glass to the existing reinforced concrete console, anchored with steel profiles for the roof, which led to the breaking of the anchors and the breakage of the console supports". According to him, it was precisely for this reason that the panic arose and the rumor that the canopy was not reconstructed.
Another thing that is also suspicious is the fact that the reconstructions were awarded to a consortium of two Chinese companies that do not allow inspection of the documentation, as the Ministry of Transport informed the public. It is well known what a privileged position Chinese companies from Zi Jin to Ling Long have in Serbia. Serbian laws do not seem to apply to them. For the Serbian government, China is an exceptional partner. When they are asked for a loan, they give it without asking, and at the same time they charge a fair interest. It is a different story with the European Union. It gives less interest, but everything must be transparent and precisely intended. In the end, every loan is returned by the citizens of Serbia.
If the mass murder at the Ribnikar elementary school in Belgrade could not be prevented, what happened on Friday in Novi Sad absolutely could and had to be avoided. If the story that the canopy was not the subject of reconstruction is true, the question arises as to how the station could have been renovated without that important part. Let's not even ask how it is possible that a "massive steel structure with heavy glass" was added to it.
No one mentions responsibility
Everyone is full of mouths that that canopy is 60-odd years old, but we can't get an answer to the question of why it wasn't reconstructed even though it got a new look. Because of this, first in Novi Sad, and then throughout Serbia, the dilemma spread whether it was an accident or a crime.
It is a well-known fact that in Serbia many large investments are made without the public and tenders, and no one complains about it. There is no transparency... In Serbia, it is not known how much it costs to build a highway. To this day, there has never been an answer to the question of how much it cost to build the monument to Stefan Nemanja in front of the former railway station in Belgrade. The question of who demolished the buildings in Nevesenjska in the Belgrade neighborhood of Savamala also remained unanswered. Not to mention the fact that the competent judicial authorities still did not get to see two minutes of the controversial video from the toll booth in Doljevci when a Serbian citizen was killed. The tragic story from Novi Sad can also be seen as a continuation of all the aforementioned works.
Responsibility, for now, no one mentions. Transport Minister Goran Vesić was asked if he was going to resign for moral reasons, but he did not answer. The one who has absolute power in Serbia, and therefore should be absolutely responsible, sees the culprits in the planners and contractors. The Chinese consortium said it was working in accordance with regulations and expressed its condolences to the families of those killed. It will be the same again – The system failed, accidents happen, etc.
On the same day when the canopy fell in Novi Sad, educators held a protest in Belgrade dissatisfied with the final offer of the Government of Serbia. If there was enough intelligence in Serbia where it should be, everyone would understand that there is no real progress without education. Then when education becomes the main topic in society, then there is no canopy that would collapse, because the profession would have a lot to say before the implementation of any project.
It is clear that someone will have to be to blame for what happened, but it is also certain that over time everything will be forgotten, just as Ribnikar and the villages around Mladenovac have been forgotten.
Bonus video:
