The Mostina landfill near Rožaje has been poisoning the population and the environment for decades, environmental activists believe. The Environmental Protection Agency recently ordered its closure, but local authorities continue to dump waste at that location. Villagers in the immediate vicinity of the landfill claim that the illegal landfill endangers people's health, while the Rožaje Municipality says they need state help to solve this problem systematically.
Despite the ban from the Environmental Protection Agency, the utility company in Rožaje is still dumping waste at the Mostina location, claim locals, who are appealing to the authorities to respond urgently.
"More and more is being taken away every day, and just yesterday I saw that a large amount of animal waste was dumped there, it was not buried properly but was just thrown at the entrance to this illegal landfill," said local resident Denis Murić.
The illegal landfill is an ecological black spot in Rožaje, but according to locals, it is also the source of a large number of carcinogenic diseases. They refer to data from the Institute of Public Health, according to which an average of 32 people in this city get lung cancer every year. There is no official confirmation that the polluted air from the landfill is the cause of the disease, but locals have no doubt about it.
"In the villages surrounding the landfill, we have an increase in lung cancer cases every year. It definitely affects the entire ecosystem, the air, the water, the fish...", said Murić.
The Mayor of the Municipality, Rahman Husović, says that they have appealed the Agency's decision and that they will continue to transport waste to Mostina until the decision becomes final and the procedure before the competent institutions is completed, in order to protect the health of all citizens.
"Then we will reach general chaos in the city, and not only in the city but also in the villages, suburban settlements. I think I am on my way to resolving this issue with Minister Ćulafić in the near future," said the Mayor of Rožaje Municipality, Rahman Husović.
The idea previously put forward by Minister Damjan Ćulafić involves closing the landfill and transporting the garbage to Podgorica. However, according to the first man in Rožaje, this would require significant money that the Municipality does not have at the moment.
"Because the local government cannot solve this problem on its own, due to the financial situation, as these are not small funds, nor can the utility company that is in charge of that part solve this issue properly," said Husović.
The solution to the ecological problem not only of Rožaje, but of the entire north, lies in the construction of a regional landfill. However, for the project that exists on paper and in the statements of officials, we still do not know when construction will begin, or where.
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