Water Shortage Crisis: Villagers and Livestock Left Thirsty as Supply Delays Continue

The protest began around 10:00 a.m., with villagers arriving on tractors, and ended at approximately 11:30 a.m. after Mayor Branko Bijelić addressed the crowd.

Bijelić reminded residents that since work began in 2020, over 170 million dinars have been invested in the Ćurčić Spring water supply system, half funded by the state and half by the local government. He noted that the catchment area and three reservoirs with a total capacity of 300 cubic meters have been completed, along with two pumping stations, two substations, five kilometers of gravity pipelines, and three kilometers of pressure pipelines. The first 700 meters of the main pipeline and six kilometers of pipes for the secondary network have also been procured, with an additional five kilometers of pipes expected to arrive soon.

According to the mayor, the municipality of Nova Varoš has allocated 40 million dinars in this year’s budget to continue the works, and financing is not the obstacle.

“The problem is obtaining the construction permit, without which we cannot proceed with work on the main pipeline and the secondary network to the affected villages. We still haven’t resolved property issues for around 30 plots that remain registered to deceased owners. That’s why we have asked the Government of Serbia to declare these plots as being of public interest, so that partial expropriation can be carried out. Only then can we secure the construction permit required by law to continue the works,” Bijelić explained.

At the meeting, villagers decided to send a letter to Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, which they read aloud before dispersing. Authorities informed them that water from the Trudovačka River Spring is expected to reach the center of the Borovita Glavica local community by the end of September, after which works will continue toward other villages.