A group of citizens protested with a one-hour blockade of the road, which leads from Kraljevi kol to Lake Biograd, demanding free tickets to the National Park (NP) Biogradska gora for the people of Mojkovci, Kolašinci and Beranci. They also demanded from the management of the Public Enterprise for National Parks (JP NPCG) to return to the National Park tourist vehicles, which used to travel from Kraljevo kol to Biograd Lake, and that in this way, it was ordered from the protest, to prevent the parking of vehicles in the National Park. in the heart of the Biograd rainforest.
According to one of the organizers of the protest, Miodrag Kalezić, at the meeting, which was held on April 27, the director of JP NPCG Vladmir Martinović promised that the request related to free tickets would be granted. However, Kalezić claims, that promise was not fulfilled, so they decided on one-hour blockades every Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m.
"The director did not keep his word, and that is why we will gather here every Saturday. It is possible that in the coming weeks the protests will be radicalized. We also appeal to Prime Minister Dritan Abazović, who is familiar with this problem, to take out the "magic wand" has solved many problems, to solve ours as well because it is obvious that we cannot agree with the management of JP NPCG. Until now, that company has not explained why they did not fulfill their promise, so I don't know what else to talk about with them," said Kalezić.
He explained why he did not appear at the second meeting with the representatives of JP NPCG, and the reason for that, he said, was the attitude that "after the word given, there is nothing more to negotiate". Kalezić believes that someone from the Government and the relevant ministry should be involved in solving the problem of tickets to the NP.
A few days ago, JP NPCG announced that Kalezić was previously a driver of tourist vehicles, and that "they are not able to deal with personal interests". Commenting on these allegations, Kalezić says that he has nothing for himself. He claims that he is not looking for any favors, not even the job of driver of tourist buses. He also claims that he has not worked in Biogradska gora National Park for two years.
"Tourist vans from NP Biogradska gora were dislocated completely illegally. One was broken in Lovcen, because a tree fell on it, so it is an irresponsible relationship and business for the prosecutor. The project through which the tourist vans were acquired cost a lot and there is documentation for this . So close to 600.000 were thrown away. Does that mean that those vehicles should end up in the scrap yard?", asks Kalezić.
According to him, "parking a car at Lake Biograd, where the strictest protection regime applies, is a crime." He denies that the drivers are unsafe, because, as he says, this is not supported by any professional findings.
Vasilije Šćepanović, one of the participants of the protest, says that a great injustice has been done to the citizens of Mojkovac, because they pay tickets like tourists from all over the world. He says that the daily ticket price of four euros is "too high for many Mojkovic residents and turns them away from Biogradska Gora".
"This protest is in the public interest. We have a tenant relationship in the NP, unlike the local population that lives near some other NPs in Montenegro," he said.
Goranko Smolović reminded that many citizens of Mojkovac signed a petition demanding free entrance to the National Park, as well as the return of tourist buses. He believes that no citizen of Montenegro should pay the entrance fee to any domestic national park.
JP NPCG recently said that "true nature lovers from municipalities that gravitate to the park have already bought annual tickets at an extremely reasonable price of 13,5 euros". From that company, among other things, they announced that they are always "at the disposal of the local community when it comes to solving problems and considering reasonable requests."
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