Ibar highway, the former lifeline of Kucavica, with the construction of the highway Milos the Great today she was almost without a vehicle. And not only the vehicles left, but also cafe: between Gornji Milanovac and Ljig they are closed until one. A similar fate is shared by the bus station in Ljig, where a mandatory break was taken. Bars are empty, and the bus station is neglected and dirty, writes the "Ozon Press" portal.
"Ljig is simply a neglected place. I don't mean only the latter, I think that the predecessors also caused this trend to continue. The trend is the decline of the youth, the youth are leaving, and those who would work here in Ljig must first have their SNS card, and then they can only get a job. That comes first, and a diploma can only be bought afterwards, or something else can be done. Our youth he leaves, you can see for yourself, there is no such camera that cannot record this pain and this misery in Ljig", says councilor in the Municipal Assembly Slobodanka Dragićević.
Despite the victory of the opposition, the Serbian Progressive Party is still in power
Due to the difficult situation, the opposition won the local elections in 2023, but two councilors joined the ranks of the progressives, so everything remained as it was, with the same promises.
"I expect the continuation of the started and the launch of new infrastructure projects, and through economic strengthening, the modernization of the municipality in all segments. Our most important task is the launch of an industrial zone and the creation of new jobs", promised the new president of the municipality, Milomir Starčević.
However, the only investment that is realized is the reconstruction of 50 meters of the square, which has been under construction for five months and whose price has been drastically increased.
"They promised the prosperity of Ljiga, investments, solving 35 years of problems with the water supply network, they announced factories, they announced new jobs, but there is definitely nothing from that. There is nothing that will happen tomorrow, and if someone comes to offer an investment, we have nothing ready. We do not own an acre of land, we do not have road infrastructure, we do not have electricity, we do not have water, we have nothing to offer the investor. So, full, that's how many years, 7 years since the construction of the highway, we we didn't move from the dead end", states Vukosav Sredojević from GG Domaćinski odjek.
The industrial zone is now a landfill, and the access road that began to be built in 2019 was never connected to the highway, so weeds have already conquered it.
"The street was started in 2019, when the section of the highway through Ljig was completed, and as you can see, even to this day, after 7 years, it has not found its meaning and is not finished, but stands here like this, from nowhere to nothing," says Sredojević.
Fun under the tent while the infrastructure is falling apart
Despite the difficult situation, the Serbian Progressive Party recently organized a big party under a tent in the village of Moravci. However, the locals say that there is no reason to celebrate and that the ruin of the town can be seen at every step.
"Nothing is working. They are only working on the school hall, they have started, it is not finished. They have not finished the square. The court has left Ljig, the revenue administration has left, the cadastre has left. We just have to leave the high school and we will become a small, small town, and the spa has been abolished, the spa has stopped functioning," enumerates the elderly resident of Ljig.
All in all, very difficult. Very hard and sad and ugly. Nothing is being done, garbage everywhere. I went to work this morning at 7 o'clock, there was no living soul, as if it was the weekend. There are no people. We all had to go somewhere. "I'm old, so I'm here, but that's why my family left," says the resident of Ljiga.
And we always left from Ljig, because he didn't know or know how to take advantage of the opportunities, neither the former narrow railway that led to Sarajevo and Belgrade, then the Ibar highway, and apparently, neither today's arrival of the highway.
"I am 37 years old, and this clock in the center has certainly not worked for 30 years. And since then, time has stopped for Ljig," concludes Sredojević.
Source: Ozon press
Only in August: Save three thousand dinars on the annual subscription to the digital edition of "Vremena"! Take advantage of the discount here and support independent journalism.
