Interview with the Commander of the Emergency Situations Headquarters of the Municipality of Kula: Reconstruction of the Kula–Vrbas road begins

More than a month has passed since the state of emergency was introduced in Serbia to combat the coronavirus. The Emergency Situations Headquarters of the Municipality of Kula began working immediately. Were there any problems with the Headquarters’ operations, and how are you working?

-As you know, the first meeting of the Headquarters was held on 13. March, when, in anticipation of a possible pandemic, we took preventive measures. An order was issued to prepare a sufficient number of plastic canisters and sodium hypochlorite for distribution to public institutions. Multilingual posters containing information about infection-prevention measures were also prepared. This timely response enabled the municipality to begin disinfecting buildings as early as Monday, 16. March, making it one of the first municipalities in Serbia to take these measures.

I would like to remind you that during the state of emergency, the first meeting of the Emergency Management Staff was held just two hours after the state of emergency was declared, and that we adopted quite strict measures, such as the complete closure of markets and the disinfection of all public institutions and apartment buildings. Just as we ensured that the measures taken were timely and as effective as possible, we also sought to minimise the economic impact of the state of emergency. To this end, street vending was permitted at designated locations and with special permits, and assistance was provided to socially vulnerable residents, unemployed people and the most vulnerable pensioners. These measures covered six and a half thousand of our fellow citizens.

Timely and high-quality information was also extremely important during the state of emergency, and your media outlet played a special role in this. Through daily reporting and field reports, often filmed at 4 in the morning or at 10 in the evening, residents received all the information about the situation in every settlement in the municipality, as well as information and orders issued by the Emergency Situations Headquarters of the Municipality of Kula.

What is the current epidemiological situation in the Municipality of Kula? According to data taken from the Ministry of Health website, as of the publication deadline of our paper, there were 17 people infected with coronavirus in the Municipality of Kula. Since experts say the epidemic is gradually subsiding, are you satisfied with what has been done and the measures taken in our community to combat the virus? How is the healthcare system functioning at the local level?

-I am satisfied with everything that has been done and how it has been implemented. All municipal services completed their assigned tasks promptly and effectively. As for the operation of the Kula Health Center, I am personally satisfied, and the Headquarters shares my conclusion that the Health Center met every challenge posed by the state of emergency. Very soon after the state of emergency was introduced, the Health Center established red and green zones. The missing equipment was purchased very quickly. The first batches of protective masks were delivered as early as 17 March, followed shortly afterward by protective coveralls, face shields and digital thermometers. In total, the Health Center has so far received several thousand protective masks and gloves, and 60 face shields. The facility was also disinfected daily, and during the state of emergency the Health Center managed to obtain a new vehicle.

Although the state of emergency is still in force, some measures are gradually being eased or even lifted. Are pensioners and people in self-isolation complying with the movement restrictions? Have there been any incidents?

-First and foremost, I would like to express my great gratitude to pensioners, who bore the greatest burden during the state of emergency. Many of them were unable to go outside for weeks, but they fully complied with the measures introduced by the state. For the most part, this also applies to people in self-isolation.

Over the past month, the greatest burden, apart from that borne by healthcare workers and members of the police and armed forces, has fallen on public utility company employees and call-centre volunteers. How are the utility companies operating during the state of emergency, and do they have adequate supplies of protective and disinfecting products?
-As for municipal services, the public utility companies fully carried out their core functions, primarily supplying water and collecting household waste, as well as performing all their other duties. This was made more difficult because, in addition to their regular work, they disinfected roads, pavements, public institutions and apartment buildings every day. To give our fellow citizens a clearer picture of the scale of this work, I will provide just a few figures. Disinfection was carried out daily at 92 public facilities, every third day at 112 apartment buildings, and along more than 120 kilometres of local roads. I would like to express my great gratitude to all the employees of the public utility companies for their work. None of this would have been possible without the large number of volunteers. They helped the utility companies with disinfection work and at the call centre, which has so far made more than a thousand deliveries of various necessities, primarily food, to our oldest fellow citizens. Volunteers also distributed 6,5 thousand aid packages to the most vulnerable part of our community. Hundreds of volunteers in the Municipality of Kula answered the local community’s call and came to the aid of those who needed it most during these days.

I would also like to thank the many donors who provided cash donations or donated basic food supplies. Distribution of the packages funded by donations will begin in the coming days.

The police shouldered a heavy burden during the state of emergency. Daily monitoring of more than a hundred people in self-isolation, enforcement of all Crisis Headquarters orders, and the performance of their regular duties demanded the utmost effort from all police employees. They were often on the front line and in contact with those who had fallen ill, but thanks to diligently implemented protective measures and sufficient supplies of protective equipment, they successfully completed all assigned tasks.

The Municipality of Kula is fortunate to have an excellent company like Sigma from Kula, which has developed technology for producing the world’s best disinfectant, hypochlorite. Thanks to this, our utility companies were trained to produce this disinfectant, and Sigma itself provided certain quantities of the concentrate free of charge for the needs of the utility companies and residents.

Also, in our municipality, while workplaces were closing across Serbia due to the state of emergency, the Panon Alcohol Factory in Crvenka started production, hired workers, and provided another strategic raw material at this time: alcohol. As a result, practically all of Serbia is now supplied from our municipality with the most important, most sought-after and scarcest disinfectants.

Pensioners with incomes below 30.000,00 dinars received aid packages. How did the initiative unfold, and how many pensioners in the Municipality of Kula received assistance?

-We decided to distribute aid twice. We completed the first round before Easter. 5.500 food packages were distributed. The second round is planned for early May, and we will also be distributing food aid. We used this distribution as an opportunity for volunteers to speak with our oldest citizens and record any problems that we can influence and resolve. We will give these our greatest attention in the coming period, whether they are municipal issues or social problems.

Unfortunately, during the state of emergency, some employees lost their jobs, and the Municipality of Kula decided to help them. How will this assistance be provided?

-So far, around twenty workers who have lost their jobs have registered with us. The Municipality of Kula will help residents who lost their jobs after the state of emergency was introduced on 15 March. The funds will be paid from the municipal budget in cooperation with the Center for Social Work. The application deadline is 15 May, and the funds are intended exclusively for residents registered with the National Employment Service in Kula who have lost their jobs and have no other employment.

Alongside taking all the measures required by the current situation in the country to protect people’s health, the Municipality of Kula has continued its regular work on maintaining and building municipal infrastructure. What work is being carried out?
-One of the largest investments funded by the Republic began about ten days ago. It is a complete reconstruction of the main road from the bridge, at the exit from Kula toward Crvenka, to Vrbas, specifically the Trivit factory. The road will be paved along a total length of 10,5 kilometers. In addition to reconstructing the road, the works include construction of a bicycle path and improvements to the stormwater drainage system, which will be piped along its entire length from the bridge at the exit from Kula toward Crvenka to the traffic lights, as well as the installation of 150 LED lighting poles. The works are due to be completed by November 2020. Traffic will be significantly affected, especially on the stretch of road between the two traffic lights in the center of Kula, as that section will be completely removed, both lanes, because the underlying layer is also being fully replaced.

Several companies have been engaged to carry out this project—Vojput, Jugokop, Graditelj and Sombor-elektro. These are large companies with substantial resources and skilled workforces, capable of completing the work efficiently and to a high standard, so that traffic is disrupted as little as possible.

In addition to this major investment, reconstruction of the Kruščić–Ruski Krstur road will begin soon. The project was prepared by the municipality. This is also a substantial undertaking, as the road is essentially being rebuilt from scratch. The road will also be widened, and the existing section resurfaced. The work will be carried out by Putevi Srbije. The municipality completed all the work it was responsible for a month and a half ago. The state of emergency disrupted the work schedule somewhat, but we are now resuming construction at full pace, as Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić also said.

The work carried out by the local government has now been completed: the municipal water supply network has been connected to the network in the Industrial Zone. Water samples are currently being tested, and this section of the water supply system will be commissioned in the coming days. A new road with lighting has been built in the Industrial Zone itself. The aforementioned work on the water supply network and road was funded by our municipality and the Province, and cost 60 million dinars.

I would also mention some smaller projects that we have completed recently, but which are very important to our citizens. First and foremost, these include the renovation of the pediatric clinic in Sivac, the installation of an enclosed walkway at the “20 October” Primary School in Sivac, lighting in the Sports Hall in Crvenka, and heating installed in the sports and school hall at the “Petefi Brigade” Primary School.

M.P.

Published in Kulska Komuna 04.05.2020.