The "Right to Water" initiative announced that during June, July and August, 108 locations across the country were reported. Of Serbia which were not drinking water, where some areas had no water at all, and in others restrictions were introduced for weeks, writes the New Economy.
"The great drought, decreasing water levels and the neglected water infrastructure, which is in an increasingly poor condition, have left dozens of towns and villages without a basic condition for life - clean drinking water. People report about dried-up wells, cloudy water, broken pipelines and the injustice that is felt every time the tap is turned on," the statement said, reports Beta.
Adjustment measures are not implemented
According to them, Serbia is located in the part of Europe that is most affected by climate change, and the situation is further complicated by the fact that adaptation measures are not implemented in a timely manner or at all.
"The long-term drought is a fact, but the responsibility for this state of water supply lies above all in poor planning, lack of investment, non-implementation of regulations and failed political decisions," said the initiative.
Plans for solving the water supply problem are, in their opinion, bureaucratized and unfounded according to the real situation, needs and possibilities on the ground, citing as an example the village of Donje Brijanje near Leskovac, where a little over a thousand inhabitants do not have water supply, and most of the wells have dried up.
The villages that are the first to run out of water
They stated that in Serbia there is a general belief that people in villages drink clean water, while the situation in reality is the opposite, adding that villages are the first to run out of water and the last to get it.
"People give up animal husbandry and even their small gardens, which are falling apart, because they don't have water with which they can maintain their property. Water from cisterns, when it arrives, is often not enough and does not represent a long-term solution," the statement reads.
According to the water supply system in the villages, there are many problems - the municipalities do not care, they do not have certain zones of sanitary protection, the infrastructure is in poor condition and underdeveloped, management is often in a gray area, and people in the countryside do not even know what kind of water they drink because health control is often absent.
The right to clean and safe drinking water is a basic human right
The "Right to Water" initiative emphasized that the right to clean and safe drinking water is not a privilege, but a basic human right.
"We cannot wait ten more dry summers for things to start. Investments are needed now - in infrastructure, in the protection of water sources, in public water management on a non-profit basis. And we will continue to be the voice of all the thirsty - until the last tap is bubbling," the statement reads.
They added that they continue to monitor the situation with water supply in Serbia and invited citizens who are facing shortages to contact them.
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