12.01.2021.

The military assist the flood affected population

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence Nebojša Stefanović, PhD, visited today members of the Serbian Armed Forces assisting the flood affected population in the villages of Bobište, Bogojevce and Turekovac, municipality of Leskovac, as well as in Vlasotince and Žitorađa.

Stefanović pointed out that President Vučić had given the order for the military to be with the citizens day and night, and that the members would be in the field wherever needed to provide all the necessary assistance to the population.

While visiting members of the armed forces in the villages of Turekovac and Bogojevce, the Minister said that he was pleased to see good cooperation between the military, local self-government and the population in such difficult situations.

- Good work gives good results, and as you can see, Serbia manages to bring difficult situations, such as floods, under control in a relatively short time. I am glad to see that the soldiers are working hard and I’ve noticed that no one is complaining about anything. They are working hard because they know that they are helping their people. At the moment, there is no immediate danger, because thanks to hard work, the soldiers, the local self-government and the population have managed to defend these villages, but since we can expect more precipitation, caution is needed. We must monitor the situation in the coming days, and if there are any indications that there may be increased flows, we must intervene and be with our citizens - the Minister said.

More than 60 members of the Training Command’s Third Training Centre from Leskovac and the Third Army Brigade’s 310th Engineer Battalion are engaged in the three municipalities in assisting the population and eliminating the effects of flooding using machines and water pumps, while a water tanker will be sent to Vlasotince.

- In cooperation with the mayors and presidents of the municipalities we will determine where the military should be involved and we will assist our citizens wherever needed – the Minister of Defence concluded.

The mayor of Leskovac, Goran Cvetanović, points out that the Leskovac-Vlasotice route was a problem because an important transformer station was exposed to a large amount of water, which was life-threatening. He thanked President Vučić, Minister Stefanović and the Serbian Armed Forces, as well as the police force, for coming to the rescue quickly and preventing major problems in that area.

According to him, there has been more than 80 litres of rain per cubic metre in the village of Turekovac alone, which is a huge amount of water.

The director of the "Srbijavode" company, Goran Puzović, pointed out that the military and the police were in the field together, as well as the representatives of the local self-government and "Srbijavode".

- The situation is gradually improving. We expect that this wave surging down the Nišava and South Morava will descend towards Velika Morava today and tomorrow - Puzović emphasized.