Burić: If the people of Bistrica are against it, I will not build a hydroelectric plant

In the restaurant "Čardak", in the Gubavac settlement of Bijelo Polje, an informal meeting was held this afternoon between members of the Bistrica municipal council and about thirty prominent citizens with the investor of the small hydroelectric power plant (MHP) on the Bistrica river, Žarko Burić.

At the meeting, Burić's project team presented the project for the construction of the future MHP.

The president of the Municipal Council of Bistrica, Sakib Čindrak, said that he is personally in favor of the construction of the MHP, but that he will respect the decision of the Council and the members of the Municipal Council, who will express themselves at the meeting.

"I have nothing against this project, especially before the Government of Montenegro gave the urban planning and technical conditions for the construction of a small hydropower plant. We just want everything to be done according to the law and for the local community to get the most benefit from the project," said Čindrak.

"If the people of Bistrica do not want this project that I am offering, I will not build it under duress," investor Žarko Burić told the citizens.

The leading and responsible auditor of the project, Ljubiša Bošković, said that the small hydroelectric power plant project is in the final phase, respecting all norms and regulations as well as European standards in the field of ecology and engineering.

"We are waiting for the settlement of property-legal relations, after which the building permit will follow," said Ljubiša Bošković.

He explained that there will be a public presentation of the project in Bistrica, after which the citizens will declare whether they are for or against this project.

Bošković invited all the citizens of Bjelopolje who doubt this project to go and see the Majstorovina-Bistrica project, which is similar to this one and has been successfully operating for two years.

Activists claim to have stopped the secret meeting

The course of the meeting was disrupted by activists of the NGO Euromost, who asked why the meeting was secret and reiterated that they would not allow the construction of the hydroelectric power plant at any cost.

"After that, the activists conveyed the message of the citizens to those present, that they will not allow Bistrica to be sold to anyone, and to build an MHP on it, because it is the common good of all the citizens of Bijelo Polje and Montenegro and the tourist and agricultural potential of Bijelo Polje, from which the citizens Bijelo Polje benefit", it was announced from "Euromost".