“Vila Zora”: We are suffocating, but the city fathers are sleeping peacefully

Pollution is alarming and such concentrations of harmful substances in the air, in medical terms, are life-threatening, according to the environmental organization “Vila Zora” from Veles.
– The measures of the competent institutions are not only ineffective, but they are also not even taken. Interestingly, citizens are literally suffocating from the polluted air, while the competent are acting like nothing is happening. Skopje is the most polluted city in Europe for a long time now, but the city fathers are sleeping peacefully, without any sense of responsibility – says Nenad Kocik from “Vila Zora”.
He says that there are some recommendations from the authorities, but they are not measure, merely tips with which we could influence the reduction of pollution.
– Today I heard that acetates will be sprayed on the streets in Skopje, which are presented to the public as a life-saving measure, but I personally think it will have virtually no impact on air pollution because it does not affect the source of the pollution. It may reduce pollution because it will rain tomorrow, but it will not solve the problem – said Kocik.
Last year, “Vila Zora” proposed measures that are compatible with the recommendations made by the WHO, but they say that some of them should begin to apply well before the heating season begins, not after the suffocation starts.
Kocik says that, given the fact that pollution is caused by several reasons, such as weather, traffic, industry and households, their attitude is that several sources of pollution should be influenced in order to achieve a quality reduction in the concentration of harmful substances in the air.
The measures proposed by the “Vila Zora” are to prohibit the use of tires, automobile oil and other toxic substances in light and heavy industry and to reduce the operation of industrial facilities. In addition, the excise duty, and thus the price of TNG (eco-gas), should be reduced in the months of December, January and February, thus promoting the use of this relatively greener fuel in winter. In addition, the environmental organization proposed to reduce the cost of biodiesel fuel in the same period by increasing the percent from 6 percent to 20, as well as to exclude heavy vehicles that do not meet basic environmental standards from traffic. Moreover, they believe that cutting of trees in cities should be banned, unless they are old and constitute a danger to the environment.