Residents of Mušovića Rijeka, with the support of activists, once again today prevented contractors on the project to divert the Ljevaja River for the needs of water supply and snowmaking for mountain centers on Bjelasica from passing through to the construction site, the village in Kolašin announced.
They recalled that the project involves leading the river "uphill" through pipes to Bjelasica, that it will take several years, and that there is no technical documentation for the phase that includes snowmaking infrastructure. Locals also claim that they have unofficial information, according to which, recently, an expert hired by the Ministry of Tourism determined that there is enough water on Bjelasica for snowmaking.
"It is incredible that even after our claim that there is enough water on Bjelasica, that is, that there is a cheaper, simpler and more sustainable way of making snow on the ski slopes, as well as after the admission from the competent local authorities that there is no technical documentation for the second phase of the 'pipelining the Ljevaja' project, and the fact that this plan to lead the river 'uphill' will cost citizens tens of millions of euros - the government is not giving up on the project. We repeat, this is a megalomaniacal project of questionable sustainability. We remind our fellow citizens that it will take several years to build all the necessary infrastructure for snowmaking, and that taking water from the Ljevaja has, for now, only the 'tap' on Bjelasica and nothing else that would contribute to avoiding another failed season without snow," reads the statement from the residents of Mušovići Rijeka.
They once again called on the state to use the water that, they claim, is now "spills over the mountain". They also say that it is necessary for the authorities to find a way to snow cover at least part of the ski slopes of the state-run ski resort by next winter, so that another "tourist season debacle" and multi-million-dollar damage can be avoided for everyone involved in tourism in Kolašin.
"It is in the interest of all of us to find a cheaper, simpler and more sustainable solution. Guiding the Ljevaja River is not that solution, because it involves 'wasted' tens of millions of euros and lost years of project implementation, which is only in its first phase. Unfortunately, instead of searching for these solutions, the Municipality and the state stubbornly cling to the idea and attempt to present the launch of dredgers to the source of the Ljevaja as an effort to solve the accumulated problems of the tourism industry," they announced from that Kolašin village.
They claim to be doing "the work of those who are paid to defend the public interest."
According to them, because of the "defense of Ljevaja", they experienced what arrogance, unprofessionalism and ignorance of the law on the part of municipal officials look like. They claim that they were issued draconian fines for misdemeanors.
The residents of Mušovića Rijeka have invited representatives of the relevant government departments to come and hear the arguments of those who oppose “putting the river in pipes”. They claim that they have only heard from government representatives “disparagement of the residents, threats and evidence that the authorities do not know the basic facts about the village or the river, or even about the project they are insisting on”.
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