Locals Bulevar Veljko Vlahovića no. 62 in Podgorica have had a problem with the works on that part of the road that were not completed in a timely manner for years, and they claim that the competent institutions do not offer them an appropriate solution.
The authorities, on the other hand, reply that they are aware of the problem, and that they will successfully solve it by the end of the year.
Dražen Vlahović, one of the tenants, told "Vijesta" that "everything is in chaos".
"We cannot open the terrace. We can't even approach the building because of the macadam," he explained.
He pointed out that the problem was repeatedly reported to the Agency for Construction and Development of Podgorica, headed by Dragan Senić.
In a letter to Senić, which he also delivered to the editorial office of "Vijesti", Vlahović emphasizes that "for years we have been suffering damage to vehicles, as well as to the collective housing facility itself, due to pebbles jumping under the tires of vehicles passing by the residential building".
"Dust with macadam destroys the terraces and enters the apartments, and it is unnecessary to talk about the damage to the facade of the building. "Not so rarely, it happens that a stone hits the tenants, fortunately, without major consequences, all because of the 50 meters of asphalt that needs to be laid instead of the soil that you fill in order to fill the holes in the roadway," he claims.
The Agency told "Vijesta" that the works on that boulevard could last from five to seven months.
They report that several city companies ("Roads", "Communal Services" and "Zelenilo") "from March 12 to April 12 carried out the remaining works at the roundabout of Veljko Vlahović and Radomir Ivanović boulevards (asphalt, public lighting and horticultural landscaping) , in order to enable the smooth movement of vehicles".
They reminded that the contract concluded in 2020 with the contractor Tehnoput-MNE was terminated at the beginning of February, and they expect the tender for a new one to be announced in June.
"From the moment of the tender announcement, provided that the offers of the bidders are correct and there are no appeals against the decision, until the signing of the contract with the selected bidder, then the selection of supervision and the submission of the construction application to the competent ministry, three and a half to four months will pass, so that the works could be resumed in October this year at the earliest", said the Agency.
They pointed out that, as a priority, "the left lane would be completed first".
"... Viewed from Bulevar Pero Ćetković towards the road Podgorica - Tuza, which would be used for traffic in both directions, and works would be carried out in parallel on the right carriageway. The works on the left carriageway would last, according to our estimation, for about a month", they said, adding that the Secretariat for Transport sent a request to "Roads" to solve the problem.
Vlahović also wrote to that company from Podgorica, whose head is Radoš Zečević, and they, as he claims, promised them a "way out of the problem".
"In the previous period, we received promises that 'Roads' would asphalt this disputed part of the road. But until today, nothing," Vlahović said.
Violated constitutional right
He also turned to the institution of the Protector of Human Rights and Freedoms of Montenegro (ombudsman) for help.
In the document signed by the deputy ombudsman, Tatjana Radović Todorović, it is concluded that the Podgorica Development Agency violated the right to address and reply from Article 57 of the Constitution.
"The defender appreciates that the complaint in question in relation to the failure (action) of this body, bearing in mind the allegations presented and the established factual situation, should be examined on the basis of Article 57 of the Constitution of Montenegro, which provides the right of citizens to address the body and to receive a state response, regarding with the fulfillment of the requirement of promptness and reasonable speed of processing the submitted request", the document states.
The Protector established that Vlahović addressed the Agency on January 22 of the current year with "submission number 522, pointing out the daily problems and damage that he and other residents suffer due to the started but not completed works on Veljko Vlahović Boulevard.
It was also established that the Agency did not submit a statement to the institution of the Protector even after the emergency sent on March 25.
"The Agency for Construction and Development of Podgorica is obliged to submit a report to the Protector of Human Rights and Freedoms of Montenegro on the actions taken to implement this recommendation after the expiration of 15 days from the date of receipt of this act," the ombudsman's document states.
That Vlahović has been urging the authorities for a long time is also confirmed by an email sent to the mayor of Podgorica, Olivera Injac. In the email he sent in July last year, he emphasizes that "the facade of the building is devastated by dust".
He points out that it is not possible to dry washed laundry, and that stones cause damage to parked vehicles and residential buildings. He told "Vijesta" that he asked for a meeting with Injac several times, but he claims that he never received feedback about it.
"The length of the section that needs to be fixed temporarily is 80 to 100 meters and it does not require any large funds, so that we can continue our normal life and so that we do not feel like second-class citizens", writes Vlahović, adding that the residents of that boulevard would also be satisfied with "scratched asphalt which is a side effect of arranging vital parts of highways".
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