The Raška River flood protection project including the construction and reconstruction of the dams, funded by the European Union and the Government of Switzerland through the European Partnership with Municipalities Programme EU PROGRES with 420,000 EUR, brought significant benefit to Novi Pazar during the last days, by protecting the rivers’ overflows.
“The recently constructed dams on the rivers, which had been built in cooperation with the European Union through EU PROGRES Programme saved Novi Pazar from the serious consequences that could have been caused by the floods. With the constructions on the rivers, which used to overflow very often, the water level was reduced by a metre or more. Unfortunately, we were not able to obstruct the River Ljudska because some inhabitants prevented the construction of the damn, but I believe that we should do it in the following period,” the Mayor of Novi Pazar Meho Mahmutović said.
The anti erosion works on the Raška River basin begun in July 2013 and were completed at the beginning of April 2014, including the development of the technical documentation and construction of nine barrages on the river tributaries in Novi Pazar and Raška.
The poorly regulated riverbeds of the Raška River tributaries, which used to overflow, caused a great damage to the City of Novi Pazar and Municipality of Raška each year. Mostly during spring and autumn, water used to overflow and flood basements, yards and fields. Only in 2013, the total damage was more than one million Euros, while in 2012 it surpassed two million Euros.