Exclusive footage made yesterday by the MANS Investigative Centre show all the proportions of devastation of the Tara riverbed on the Bar-Boljare section of the highway. At the construction site of the Mateševo loop, where two bridges are being built, Tara 1 and Tara 2, it is noticeable that the contractor, the Chinese company CRBC, has completely devastated the river flow, while the Tara riverbed has been relocated in some parts.
“Who is responsible for the fact that an NGO and a media are revealing tonight what is happening on the highway, and for devastation that occurred because the contractor completely uncontrollably did what it pleased on Tara. Was there any control, who was in charge of that control, and who is responsible for what happened and what the consequences will be,” Vanja Ćalović-Marković, MANS Executive Director said.
“In such way, they are trying to hide responsibility for an enormous devastation and damage both financially for the budget and citizens of Montenegro and of course the damage to nature, and it is questionable whether it will ever be repaired,” Ćalović-Marković stated.
“Today, hydrological picture of the Tara River in a part of more than five kilometres from Jabuka to Mateševo looks really terrible. These are big devastations. What we can see today on the site is devastated riverbed, devastated coastal area, the lack of biodiversity we are accustomed to, the heavy machinery,” stressed Nataša Kovačević from NGO Green Home.
Green Home stated that according to the Water Framework Directive, the relocation of the riverbed is prohibited.
“Had the adequate environmental impact assessments been made, which was not the case, then we would have alternative locations not only for these kinds of corrections of the riverbed in the field, but also for the landfills that were deposited in these locations,” Kovačević said.
