23.07.2024.

Serbian Armed Forces help provide water to Gornji Milanovac and Mionica municipalities

To help mitigate the impacts of long draught that has caused water shortages, members of the Serbian Armed Forces are tasked with providing water to households in the municipalities of Gornji Milanovac and Mionica.

Deputy Commander of the Training Command’s Signals and IT Training Centre, Lieutenant Colonel Zlatko Kovačević, says that since July 19, a water tanker truck has been delivering drinking water to the residents of draught stricken villages of Teočin and Brezna in the municipality of Gornji Milanovac, and as of yesterday, to Pranjani, as well.

- In accordance with the third mission of the Serbian Armed Forces, our service members are always with their people and are involved in providing assistance to civilians affected by natural disasters and other accidents and will do so wherever there is a need for it - said Lt. Col. Kovačević.

Head of the Municipal Centre for Emergency Situations of Gornji Milanovac, Colonel Milorad Dimitrijević (retd), expressed his gratitude to the Serbian Armed Forces for deploying a water tanker truck to replenish the depleted reservoirs of rural water supply systems in the Pranjani region.

- The municipality of Gornji Milanovac is very big and comprises 61 inhabited places. A long drought and low rainfall during the summer, along with an increased need for water, have led to problems with water distribution in some local communities. That is why we have turned to the District Emergency Operations Centre for help, and the Serbian Armed Forces responded very quickly and efficiently, and this is the fifth day that the water tanker truck has been replenishing the village reservoir in Pranjani with water. That amount fully meets our needs - said the head of the Municipal Centre for for Emergency Situations.

According to the head of the Local Community of Pranjani, Radovin Veselinović, water scarcity is a persistent problem in Pranjani, which has been especially pronounced in the last month, due to severe droughts.

- Our springs have dried up. Thanks to the municipality of Gornji Milanovac and the Serbian Armed Forces, we manage to overcome the problem we are facing. I hope that at some point we will be able to solve this problem permanently - said Veselinović.

Besides Pranjani, the military water tanker truck was also helping deliver water to the villages of Teočin and Brezna in the municipality of Gornji Milanovac yesterday.

A state of emergency has also been declared in the entire territory of the municipality of Mionica due to extreme weather, water supply disruptions and health hazard.

At the request of the District Emergency Operations Centre of the Kolubara Administrative District, a water tanker truck from the 2nd Training Centre has been employed in the municipality of Mionica since the beginning of the week. Its primary task in the villages of Ključ, Bukovac, Đurđevac and Rajković is to replenish wells, cisterns and reservoirs with water for household use and for watering livestock.

Lieutenant Commander Dragan Ilić from the Second Training Centre based in Valjevo, is in the village of Rajković today, providing the draught affected residents with water.

- We have been engaged on the task of delivering water since July 15. Every day, we deliver between 9 and 12 tons of water to the residents who have been impacted by water shortage the most, in coordination with the municipality of Mionica, and in accordance with the request by the Municipal Centre for Emergency Situations - said Lieutenant Commander Ilić.

Boban Janković, the president of the municipality of Mionica, which during the summer was first affected by floods, and then by drought, says that they were forced to turn to the Ministry of Defence for help.

- We had to declare a state of emergency. The Serbian Armed Forces responded straight away, for which they deserve admiration. One day we declared a state of emergency, and the very next day they were in our premises, same as the people from the Ministry of Public Investment. We are on the ground, and we have been with the people since day one, so I must say that the efforts of the Serbian Armed Forces are, as always, to be commended - emphasized the president of the municipality of Mionica and added that the aim of this urgent intervention is to stabilize the water supply. According to him, the municipality will soon reach a permanent solution, because "in the fall, the biggest project that the municipality of Mionica is working on, together with the state, will be launched, providing over 20 litres of water per second to the citizens of this region."

Stanko Tanasijević from the village of Rajković, whose family was supplied with water by the Serbian Armed Forces today, confirms that the household has a long-standing problem with water supply.

- This time we have turned to the local self-government, through their call centre, and then the military was engaged to help us, which we are grateful for. For the first time, a military car is in our yard to help us - said Tanasijević.

In parallel with delivering water to draught affected communities, at the request of local self-government bodies and in coordination with the Ministry of Public Investment, members of the Serbian Armed Forces are currently engaged on the task of repairing local roads on the territory of several municipalities, showing that they are always there to provide assistance to citizens whenever necessary.