The residents of the Vranje hamlet of Gaine organized themselves and filled in the village road, which was in poor condition.
They say they are outraged that they have not received any assistance from the Municipality of Bijelo Polje for years, and point out that every year they have to use their own money to fill and maintain the road, as if they did not live in Montenegro.
They live on the slopes of Lisa and claim that it is a great shame for the state and the municipality that thousands of cubic meters of wood have been extracted from the forests for years, with concessionaires "taking millions of euros from Lisa", without investing a single cent in roads, which is why many are forced to leave their centuries-old homes.
The highlanders proudly point out that at a time when villages are being closed down throughout the Vraneška Valley and beyond, there are ten children in their hamlet, six of whom go to school and four are about to start kindergarten.
And this spring, as they say, they were united by harmony and reliance on each other in the daily struggle for survival in the countryside.
Ljubisav Mrdak explained that the road is the only connection with the rest of the municipality, but that it is not included in the regular maintenance plan.
"We have been clearing snow and repairing it for years without any help from local or state authorities. We do this because children have to go to school, people have to go to the doctor, the store and work," Mrdak said.
There are two farms in the village with about a dozen dairy cows each, as well as several households engaged in various agricultural activities - livestock breeding, vegetable growing, and crop farming.
"These people live off their work, invest in the land and want to stay in the countryside, without any systemic support, but all of that is becoming more difficult every day."
Mrdak said that poor infrastructure and the inability of dairies to come due to poor roads are the main reasons why the development of agriculture, especially livestock farming, is not at a much higher level.
"We destroy cars on bad roads, we often change parts, and those who should come to buy our products give up because of the bad roads," said Mrdak.
Miloš Peković, who grows vegetables with his wife, says the same thing.
"We grow cabbage, peppers and an unusual type of vegetable - kivano, which is most similar to a cucumber. We sell some of it to survive in the countryside. A big problem for both us and our customers is the bad road, which is why we are forced to fill it ourselves."
He said that the state does not pay enough attention to agriculture, that it is difficult to survive in the countryside, especially for young people, because they have almost no prospects for life.
"It's worst in the winter, when it snows, because then we are most often cut off from the rest of the world and forced to walk for several kilometers to reach the asphalt."
With great disappointment, locals point out that the Mayor, since he was elected in 2016, has not yet set foot in the area, except for a few visits to party comrades from the DPS, before the elections.
They point out that they believed that something would change with the change of government in Montenegro, but that they were also replaced by the Ministry of Agriculture, Water Management and Forestry.
Bonus video:
