Locals of the Lozna Community are not giving up on their request to ban the construction of a quarry at the Strmica-Poda site.

Residents of the Bela Polje local community of Lozna have warned that they will not give up on their request to ban the construction of a quarry at the Strmica-Poda site.

They said this today at a warning protest in the town of Srđevac, emphasizing that they will not block the Bijelo Polje - Berane main road.

Local representative Juso Dervišević said that they gathered as a warning ahead of the hearing in the Administrative Court, which relates to a lawsuit filed against the decision of the Chief Administrator of the Municipality of Bijelo Polje, which gave approval to the study on the environmental impact assessment.

They reiterated that they have nothing against the concessionaire of the company "Imperial" owned by Vojislav Smolović, brother of the president of the Municipality of Bijelo Polje, Petar Smolović, but that they do not want a quarry near their homes, because it would endanger their lives.

Local representative Juso Dervišević announced the radicalization of the protests if the authorities do not react, recalling that they have been fighting against illegal construction for five years.

"All these years we have been pointing out numerous irregularities that were made during the preparation of the study, for which the Environmental Protection Agency announced that it was responsible for issuing the study on environmental protection, and not the Secretariat for Rural and Sustainable Development. We will not give up on this, there is no construction here. If they just cut down this large pine forest, what greater disaster could there be," said Dervišević, calling on the Government to terminate the contract with the concessionaire.

Ilija Nedović pointed out the problems that locals would face if another quarry were opened in the area, and reiterated that locals would not allow construction at any cost, as it would destroy the environment and people's health.

"It's a shame for the water, for the forest, we planted all this as children, about 155 houses are supplied with water here and they want to demolish it. We wouldn't be able to plant or grow anything anymore, everything would be polluted. We certainly won't allow a quarry to be built here. I hereby invite the president of the Municipality of Bijelo Polje to come and address us," Nedović emphasized.

Miloš Bubanja from Srđevac, currently residing in Podgorica, said that he was very concerned about this situation and that the locals had received support from the diaspora, many of whom had built houses in the area.

"They came here with the intention of spending their retirement days here, but here we are, a minority, against whom we have nothing, but we do have against those who allowed them to destroy our environment, future and this beautiful region," said Bubanja.