The cleaning operation of the Jablanica Lake is underway. Volunteers from all over Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) participate in a coordinated action to clean watercourses and lake, in the area affected by floods, on the stretch from Konjic to Mostar. The action will be underway next weekend as well.
A large number of volunteers responded to the action of cleaning the Jablanica Lake after the torrential floods that hit the area. Volunteers from all over BiH were invited to help repair the damage. The action was initiated by the cantonal Ministry of Trade, Tourism and the Environment. The cleaning of the lake began in the town of Ostrozac, and after that the cleaning will begin in Buturovic Polje.
“Today, there are about 100 volunteers with us, mostly from Jablanica, Konjic, Elektroprivreda… For the next few weekends, actions are planned here in Ostrozac, after that in the Buturovicfield, which is the most affected on the lake. We provided the volunteers with everything, gloves, boots… With us on the ground today are the communal companies that take away all this waste, sanitary and communal inspectors, in case we find the body of an animal because they are treated differently,“ said Emil Balavac, Minister of Trade, Tourism and Environment, Herzegovina-Neretva Canton (HNC), yesterday.
“I can proudly say that my father, who is 90 years old, is also there, helping, the entire family, as well as many of my friends, and neighbors. People from all over responded,“ told Dervis Gabela, president of the Citizens’ Association ”Miris ljeta” (“Smell of Summer”).
After the floods that hit the area of Jablanica and Konjic, large amounts of garbage flooded Lake Jablanica and the coast. Volunteers responded to help residents clean up the trash that had accumulated. The cleaning action will certainly help to restore the lake, as well as all the other natural beauties in this area, to the state it was in before these devastating floods.
“This is a kind of warning, our attitude towards the environment. After all the floods and torrents, we also got a lot of garbage that we all collected for years around Jablanica Lake and on Jablanica Lake. I think it’s high time we pay attention to that as well,“ said Haris Cosic, Visit Jablanica.
“The case of Lake Jablanica is one of the best answers of nature. Everything we threw came to our courtyards and meadows, mostly here in Jablanica and the lake. The wood we cut down, illegal constructions, quarries, it all came back to us,“ told Boris Cukovic, a volunteer from Zenica.
After cleaning the Jablanica Lake, the volunteer action will be moved to clean the Grabovicko Lake, which is located near Jablanica, and which also felt the effects of floods and torrents. The garbage found in Jablanica Lake should be a reminder to people that nature always gives back what we give to it.
Photo: vrdak
