The executive director of the Pljevlja non-governmental organization Breznica, Milorad Mitrović, called on those responsible in the municipality and the state to close the heating plant in Skerlićeva street, and to exempt the citizens of Pljevlja from paying for electricity, until the city's heating project is implemented.
"The adoption of a decision by the environmental inspector to stop the operation of the city heating plant, and not the boiler house as it is called, further worsened the already serious heating problem in our city. This event comes at a time when the citizens of Pljevlja are faced with serious challenges related to health and lifestyle standard, along with the ubiquitous, long-standing threat of polluted air and inadequate energy infrastructure. Unfortunately, all our appeals to solve the environmental disaster in Pljevlje have gone unanswered air, which is crucial for health and survival, is constantly being violated, the authorities in Montenegro do not take appropriate measures to solve them that problems such as the excessive amount of PM240 particles in our air require responsibility and action at a higher level, the question arises - what about the rights of the citizens of Pljevlja who have been neglected and left to fate for decades? Is it time for the health of the citizens of Pljevlja to become a political issue, because only then can we expect solutions that will enable our fellow citizens to live in a normal, healthier and safer environment", said Mitrović.
He explained that boiler houses are thermal energy facilities with a power of up to 1000 megawatts, and above that are heating plants. The plant in Skerlić has a capacity of over six megawatts.
Mitrović points out that for decades Pljevlja has been the most ordinary colony from which natural and mineral resources are exploited and taken away, while nothing returns to our city.
"Our nature, resources and workforce serve the interests of others, while the citizens of Pljevlja suffer the consequences of this unfair and colonial relationship. This situation contributes to enormous migrations, because many are forced to leave their homes in search of a better life, because Pljevlja, despite its resources, they have no foundations for a sustainable and dignified life. Our youth are leaving the city, and the rest are struggling to survive in increasingly difficult conditions legal obligations in the field of environmental protection, ordering that the heating plant, and not the boiler house, as is often speculated in the public, be closed an indicator that air pollution continues to be "swept under the carpet". Unfortunately, it is worrisome that instead of real solutions for air pollution and citizens' energy problems, political competition continues in Pljevlja at the expense of the lives of our fellow citizens. Mitrović said in the statement.
DON'T MISS IT
He appealed to the competent authorities to urgently solve the heating problem in Pljevlja.
"If Pljevlja already supplies the whole of Montenegro with electricity, coal, technical and firewood, and other expensive ores, we believe that it is necessary that the inhabitants of this city, who live in conditions of high pollution, receive free electricity, so that they can survive in these difficult and harsh This proposal is not only a question of energy security, but also a question of preserving the health and dignity of citizens Podgorica, while our representatives are only the executors of those decisions. Many decision-makers from the authorities, who make decisions about Pljevlja, mostly own real estate in areas with better living conditions, where it is easier to breathe, so the question arises, what should we who live here "Pljevlja is our only choice, and we do not want to be victims of the economic and ecological disaster we have been witnessing for decades," Mitrović said.
That's why, he points out, "while we wait for the long-promised realization of heating, which is often mentioned, but never comes to fruition, we appeal to the authorities to provide concrete measures that will enable the citizens of Pljevlja to survive the difficult situation".
"We are asking to be provided with free electricity, because we are aware that difficult times await us
months, in which the polluted air and the high cost of living do not decrease, but only worsen. It's the least you can do for Pljevlja and the people of Pljevlja.
Protecting the health of the population of Pljevlja should and must be a priority above all other priorities and represent an example in the achievement of goals, first and foremost a preventive reduction in the number of people suffering from the most serious diseases, regardless of the cost, because it should and should be logical that the health of citizens is at the first place, then everything else", concluded Mitrović.
Bonus video:
