Members of the "Plavi Jadran" tourist boat association from Bar protested today in front of the Coastal Zone office in that city over the government's decision to call a tender for the lease of beaches, which does not foresee or plan the function of tourist boats and their docking on the territory of the entire Bar municipality.
As the president of the association, Peđa Adžić, told "Vijesti", such behavior is unacceptable to them and threatens their existence, since no access for ships carrying passengers is planned in Bar.
On behalf of the members, he handed over a letter to the officials of the Coastal Reserve stating that they were not mafia members, since they were informed that the Minister of Urbanism and Spatial Planning, Slaven Radunović, had said that the new tender for the Coastal Reserve was a fight against the mafia.
"We are all registered, 19 of us, we operate legally and none of us are involved in crime, that's why we are still here today. If our request for docks is not met, we will be forced to block the entrance to the port with ships," he said.
This problem they are facing, as they said, must be resolved in the next "ten to fifteen days" because preparations for the summer season cost them a lot of money, several thousand euros which they invest in boats to pass the legally required technical inspection.
They presented to the workers of Morski Dobro a series of problems that this behavior of the state-owned company will create for them, the main one being existential - they will lose the jobs from which they live and support their families.
It is impossible for them to carry out their activities without access, they stated, because the tender does not plan a single dock in the entire Bar municipality and Buljarica. The Bar marina does not have an operational berth, they pointed out, so it is impossible for them to receive passengers at the piers.
The people of Bar believe that they are particularly vulnerable in this way compared to other cities because Budva, Kotor and other cities in Boka Bay have better conditions for docks and the transportation of passengers, even without access to the sea.
"We make up the tourist offer of this city, but we are also useful for the community. We relieve road traffic, we participate in rescuing and finding lost people, we are the first line of defense at sea," said Adžić.
Members of this association pointed out that they have signed contracts with foreign agencies that bring tourists to Montenegro, so a possible suspension of their work would disrupt the tourist season in Bar.
They are asking for 15 meters on the Bar coast and the most attractive beaches and they want to pay for those 15 meters and not have anyone give them anything, they pointed out. They believe that this is a reasonable request that the Public Company for Coastal Zone Management can fulfill.
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