The bowling alley building in Pljevlja, which was demolished a few days ago by the Army of Montenegro, should have been preserved and renovated, according to the president of the Breznica Ecological Society, Milorad Mitrović.
He says that the building of the bowling alley, next to the Dom Vojske, was demolished in order to prevent the use of opiates in that building, which was ruined.
"By needlessly demolishing buildings, in this case the Bowling Alley buildings, prevent drug use. And never before have so many drugs been sold in Pljevlja. Street sales in expansion, drugs in transit as well... There has never been a bigger and more varied offer, never cheaper or more available.
"Drugs are literally being sold like in the street, in every bar they snort in the toilets, older people also snort...", Mitrović said.
He believes that the Army should have renovated this area and returned it to its previous state.
"According to them, it is cheaper to tear it down," Mitrović said.
He also claims that the Army improperly disposed of the destroyed material in the grounds of the Vladimir Knežević Volođa barracks in Pljevlja.
A few days ago, the army demolished the former bowling alley, the summer stage and the terrace of the former restaurant of the Army House, at the request of citizens and the local administration, because minors used to gather in that neglected area.
The demolition of the buildings was also visited by the Chief of the General Staff of the Army of Montenegro, Brigadier General Zoran Lazarević, together with the President of the Municipality of Pljevlja, Dario Vraneš.
"These abandoned facilities, which the Army has not used for many years, became unsafe and represented potential problems for the residents of Pljevlje, but also damaged the aesthetic image of this city, which is why the Minister of Defense, in cooperation with the local self-government, recognized the necessity of their removal and ordered the undertaking concrete steps", the statement of the Ministry of Defense states.
General Lazarevic pointed out that this is an important contribution to the arrangement of the center of Pljevlja and the improvement of citizens' safety.
"The removal of unrepresentative objects is only one of the steps taken by the Army of Montenegro in order to contribute to a safer life for citizens. The Ministry of Defense and the Army are open to cooperation in the organization of educational workshops, seminars and the promotion of healthy lifestyles and are here to support any action of local self-governments that are organized to create a healthy environment for children to grow up.
"The Army of Montenegro is committed to cooperation with local authorities in solving such issues. We want to show a responsible attitude and, above all, a quick reaction of the Minister of Defense and us from the Army to appeals to the public," the general stressed. He added that, unfortunately, this does not solve the problems of drug addiction and alcoholism among the youth, and called on all adults in Montenegro to recognize the request to help young people in this procedure.
"It's not the children's fault that they can use drugs almost unhindered, it's the adults who think that someone else's children are doing it and that they should be punished for that. We must turn around in the family, in the classroom, in the collective, on the street and everywhere and in every place, recognize our child and be dedicated to confronting this challenge. We must call these phenomena by their real name and say that some of our children are taking drugs and not "enjoying intoxicants", General Lazarevic said.
The president of the municipality of Pljevlja, Dr. Dario Vraneš, reminded that the army and old military facilities have been present in our city for about 140 years and that many of those facilities have collapsed.
"When they were made they were on the outskirts of the city. However, as the city center expanded, they are now practically in the center of the city. We talked with General Lazarevic and his associates and decided that it would be most useful for these old buildings to be demolished and initially brought to zero condition by the joint work of local services and the Army," said Vraneš.
The president of the municipality and the guests also visited the facility that the company "Local Roads" uses as a garage for its vehicles.
"This part is extremely urgent for us. These buildings have all collapsed, and what is particularly important for us in the municipality of Pljevlja is to build a road here so that the 15 or so houses located behind this building will have one normal access," said Vraneš.
The President of the Municipality expressed his gratitude to the Minister of Defense Dragan Krapović for his quick response and also expressed the hope that already at the next session of the Government these facilities, which are owned by the Army of Montenegro, will be transferred to the ownership of the Municipality of Pljevlja.
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