Clouds of dust blown by the strong wind from the ash and slag dump of the Pljevlja Thermal Power Plant on Maljevac covered Zbljevo and other surrounding villages yesterday, and the dust particles ended up in the city center.
Vladimir Stanimirović, a resident of Zbljevo, says that previously large amounts of dust covered nearby properties, but that yesterday it "exceeded every measure".
"Every day is terrible, but today has exceeded all measure. Today we can't notice each other, the whole city can't be seen because of the dust. As mentioned, we couldn't stand it in the cemetery because of the large amount of dust that stings our eyes. No one from the local administration to speak out and say anything and to warn the citizens of the danger that threatens us from the landfill. We ask Prime Minister Marković to visit the Maljevac landfill and its surroundings the first time he comes to Pljevlja and see what kind of conditions we live in, when no one from the local administration will do that. This is impossible to endure any longer," said Stanimirović.
He says that there is no so-called water mirror in Maljevac and that works are carried out on the landfill every day, but that they do not know what it is about.
Stanimirović says that the locals will have to do something to protect themselves, but that they will wait a few days to see if the competent inspection will sanction those responsible for this situation.
The Maljevac landfill is only a hundred meters away from the nearest houses.
Stanimirović says that great damage was caused to the properties, gardens and orchards of the locals who live in the immediate vicinity of the Thermal Power Plant.
I don't know who will compensate the farmers for the damage caused by this ecological disaster. Even natural disasters are easier than what is happening to us. What will farmers do with their products? They can just pluck cabbage and other vegetables and throw them away," Stanimirović points out.
He claims that no one did anything to protect the locals who are being poisoned by the dust from Maljevac.
"It is unbelievable that none of the authorities in EPCG, the Municipality of Pljevlja, and especially the environmental inspection, are doing anything to protect us. No one advertises to at least warn the parents not to take the children outside, to close the doors and windows in order to save the children as much as possible from this situation, until at least the wind that carries the clouds of dust calms down. Everyone closed their eyes so that the dust wouldn't get into their eyes, they kept silent and suffered, so that they wouldn't hold a grudge against anyone. EPCG will probably say, like many times before, that it is not their fault, but the wind that is blowing," Stanimirović points out.
He points out that they have addressed and protested several times because of the problems caused by the Maljevac landfill, but that no one has taken any action to date.
"We protested, the police even detained us, criminal charges were filed against us, and we only ask that they act according to the law. They have to do the reclamation of the landfill, and if they are thinking of expanding it, they have to evict the village of Zbljevo. There is no other possibility. "We said 15 years ago that the Maljevac landfill would overhang the city and that all the dust would go to the city center, which is happening now, and at that time no one took it seriously," said Stanimirivić.
He claims that two years ago, at the request of EPCG, they gave written consent to the expropriation due to the expansion of the Maljevac landfill, but nothing has been done about it since then.
Then they told us that it would be in a month or two, and this spring that everything would be resolved by June, but none of their promises were kept," Stanimirović points out.
The citizens of Pljevlja are victims of the negligence of the competent authorities, the municipal board of Democratic Montenegro announced.
"Clouds of dust from the ash and slag disposal site near the Pljevlja Thermal Power Plant and the mining pit covered the city. We have come to a situation where our health depends on the influence of wind and weather conditions. Is it possible that in the 21st century a nation indulges in the effects of dust and completely of polluted air," the announcement reads.
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