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Residents of Suç villages forcibly entered the Klos Municipality during their protest against the construction of the Doma hydroelectric power plant, while local officials blame each other for the responsibilities.
The protest against the construction of the Doma HPP on the Lusa River in Mat continued this Monday, where dozens of residents of the Suç administrative unit gathered in front of the Klos Municipality, demanding the intervention of the local government to suspend the works.
The protest was accompanied by tensions, as residents sought to meet with the mayor, Valbona Kola, but were faced with the Municipal Police blocking the entrance. The situation escalated when protesters forcibly entered the building, leading to the intervention of State Police forces to calm the situation.
At the insistence of the residents, Mayor Kola met with them in one of the municipal halls, along with some of the institution's leaders. In a hall filled with residents from several villages in the area, Kola stated that the Klos Municipality has no legal ability to stop the investment, as it has been faced with a fait accompli. She and municipal officials passed on the responsibility to the former right-wing administration that ran the municipality until 2019.
The current administration presented a lease contract signed in September 2018 by the former mayor, Basir Çupa, for the 10-year lease of a forest area for use by the company building the hydroelectric power plant. According to the documents made public, the lease comes into effect from the moment the entity is provided with a construction permit, while the positive opinion for the removal from the forest fund was given in 2019 by the Municipal Council.
Asked by BIRN about the lease contract signed in 2018 with "Global Enterprise Group" and the decision of the Klos Municipal Council in 2019, the former mayor of Klos, Basir Çupa, said that the decisions were made in accordance with the law.
"During that period, the Municipal Council in Klos was not only right-wing, but mixed," said Çupa, emphasizing that during that period there were no complaints from the community.
According to him, the decision was made with representatives of the Ministry of Environment and the construction company, while the construction is planned below the area where residents take water for irrigation. He added that the objections from the residents came later and if there were violations in the lease contract, they could have been corrected by the subsequent administrations, which according to him “have had all the powers in their hands for years”.
The protesting residents stood by the decision not to allow the construction of the HPP, emphasizing that the project threatens water sources for irrigation, and will cause irreparable damage to the ecosystem and nature of the area.
"We have requested support from the IKMT of Dibra, as we have a shortage of employees in the Local Inspectorate of Territory Protection. They are in the field today. I know that Kurdaria is the granary of agriculture, so I am on your side. The works for the HPP are currently suspended by the company," promised the mayor of Klos, Valbona Kola, to the residents.
The construction of the Doma HPP on the Lusa River in the Suç administrative unit of Klos has led to ongoing clashes between residents and the construction company “Global Interprise Group”. The project is part of a wider scheme to build three hydropower plants on this river. Residents claim that they were not included in any public hearing process. The situation has escalated in recent weeks, with physical clashes between residents and company representatives. In previous statements, the construction company states that the HPP footprint is located below the residential area and does not directly affect the residents’ interests in irrigation. / BIRN
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