09.06.2014.

Prime Minister in Obrenovac

Today, Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic, together with Defence Minister Bratislav Gasic and the Head of the General Staff Ljubisa Dikovic, visited Obrenovac where members of the Serbian Armed Forces, Ministry of Interior and other civilian institutions work on flood relief.

The Prime Minister visited the location where the fecal matter collector is being fixed, the deployable medical treatment facility near the “Jefimija” Elementary School, “Bora Markovic” barracks where the displaced persons are accommodated and the Health Center in Obrenovac. At “Bora Markovic” barracks, the Prime Minister talked to the families currently situated there, and in front of the Medical Center he handed keys of two ambulances, the donation of an anonymous donator from the United Arab Emirates.

In his statement to the media, Prime Minister Vucic positively evaluated the participation of the Armed Forces of Serbia and called upon

citizens to help the soldiers who have been working incessantly for days on cleaning the terrain. He said that in the next few days electricity and drinking water supply will be established, and that the sewerage will become functional.

According to Vucic, the state will help everyone who had lost their home in the floods with building new ones, and for those whose houses are still usable, a monetary aid of around 250,000 RSD will be provided. The state will also consider ways to stimulate the recovery of the economy through tax deduction and affordable loans.

Earlier in the day, Lieutenant General Aleksandar Zivkovic, Commander of the Flood Relief Headquarters, reported to the Prime Minister about the current state in Obrenovac and the work that has been done so far.

General Zivkovic said that, since the beginning of the natural disaster in Obrenovac, working operations have been conducted in three stages. The first stage, May 16 to May 21, focused on rescuing and evacuating citizens from the affected area. The second stage, lasting until Jun 3, concentrated on coordinating security services and public services in the affected area, and since June 4, the phase of removing the damage of the flood in the affected area.

Until now, field sanitation in that city has deployed 1914 persons in total: 1079 members of the Ministry of Defence and the Armed Forces of Serbia, 264 members of the City of Belgrade Police Directorate, 67 members of the Military Police, 21 member of the Emergency Response Sector from the Ministry of Interior, and 483 persons from other civilian structures. The Armed Forces of Serbia have deployed 87 vehicles and work machinery, the Military Police 8, Emergency Response Sector 14, and other civilian institutions have deployed 239 vehicles.

According to General Zivkovic, accommodation capacities have been secured for 650 persons at “Bora Markovic” barracks in Obrenovac. From shelters in Belgrade, 420 temporarily displaced persons have been referred there, while 341 have reported to the barracks in Obrenovac, and 317 have been settled.

The Armed Forces of Serbia have set up two deployable medical treatment facilities where 574 persons have been examined so far. Military units have participated in removal of 13.555 tons of large waste, 13,336 cubic meters of fecal waste and 7,565 kilos of waste of animal origin have been removed. 1,695 acres of public surfaces have been biologically disinfected, 246,000 square meters of streets have been cleaned and 120 hectares of grass have been mown.

By deploying members of the Armed Forces of Serbia and other defence forces on organizing and conducting the procedures in flood relief in Obrenovac, basic conditions have been achieved for the gradual return of the affected citizens and normalization of life and work.