The Mayor of Smederevo, Jasmina Vojinović, together with her associates, the President of the City Assembly, Milan Perić, and the Member of the City Council responsible for urban planning, utility services and environmental protection, Snežana Ranković, held a meeting with representatives of the organisation Pro.Tok 21, which had earlier expressed interest in talks on solving environmental issues in Smederevo.
Four topics were discussed: how to tackle industrial pollution, pollution from boiler rooms running on heavy fuel oil, pollution from individual household stoves, and traffic as a source of pollution.
“The City of Smederevo is making great efforts to tackle the problem of pollution and is taking concrete steps, especially in the fight for better air quality. This year a great deal has been done to convert boiler rooms from heavy fuel oil to gas.
Since the spring, a new boiler room has been operating in Senjak, supplying heat not only to the “Diznilend” kindergarten but also to around 180 flats in that part of the city and several households in its immediate vicinity. This summer, the boiler rooms were replaced in four educational institutions: the Technical School, the Economics School, the Grammar School and Primary School “Branislav Nušić”. Primary School “Dositej Obradović” will also soon have a new boiler room. We expect the new kindergarten in Radinac to be connected to gas as well. Solar panels are also planned for that building.
We are launching the energy renovation of the “Hajdi” kindergarten in the city centre, which also includes replacing its boiler room. The plan is to connect several important buildings in close proximity, such as the Pension and Disability Insurance Fund building, the Historical Archives and others, to a single boiler room. Work is currently under way on the design for a central boiler room at the Sports Centre, to which the Parnjača, Mlin, Dud and Centroprom buildings will be able to connect. Tests are also under way on the Carina, Vučak and Kovačićevo gas network, and gas is expected to be switched on in those parts of the city soon. A gas pipeline is being built in the Old Industrial Zone and, according to plan, it will be in operation from next year.
We are trying to inform citizens as fully as possible about the benefits of subsidies for the energy renovation of houses and flats, so as to reduce the number of individual solid-fuel stoves, which contribute to air pollution in winter, said the Mayor of Smederevo, Jasmina Vojinović, among other things, announcing that a working group will be set up in the coming period, including representatives of the civil sector, who will be involved in solving environmental issues.
Presenting the organisation and thanking the hosts for the reception, the Executive Director of Pro.Tok 21, Nataša Rašković, pointed out that Pro.Tok 21 aims to make its full contribution to mitigating the harmful effects of pollution on health. She said that, as a civil society organisation, it will continue its analyses, the drafting of an effective plan for possible solutions, education and raising citizens’ awareness of the importance of the fight for better air quality.
The talks between the leadership of the City of Smederevo and representatives of Pro.Tok 21 took place in a constructive atmosphere, with a desire to establish cooperation in order to solve the city’s environmental problems faster and more effectively, and with an invitation to everyone who is genuinely interested in joint action to that end.
