January 4, 2021 – Petrinja Mayor Darinko Dumbovic is interviewed by N1 on the current situation in his town.
Petrinja Mayor Darinko Dumbovic said that this morning’s earthquake was very strong. He pointed out that the accommodation of people is now the basic problem, because enough food and clothes have arrived.
“This was a blow to everything that is not difficult to hit, because even much smaller blows will bring additional damage. All people who move through the centre will have a problem if a brick falls on their head, a tile… Our nights are traumatised, without sleep, uncertainty, a future in which we urgently need to find a solution. Citizens are on the edge of patience and the capabilities of a normal human being. Today in Petrinja, no one is normal anymore,” said the Petrinja mayor.
Regarding the establishment of the Government Crisis Management Headquarters in the area of Petrinja and Sisak, he said: “As far as I know Tomo Medved, he is a very good operative, a very good politician, he needs such an operational strong hand. He is good as a politician, but I think that there should be capable people in Petrinja, Sisak, Glina next to him… I am sure that we, as mayors, will be in the headquarters.”
Commenting on the speed of the state’s reaction, Dumbovic pointed out that he could always do better: “The first days were terrible, everyone here risked their lives. In an hour all the teams and available strength were here in Petrinja. The question is what more they could have done. I don’t mind wherever the headquarters are, just to have people living here. I am not interested in a headquarters comes here and knows more about and loves my city more than me.”
He pointed out that the first aid of two million kuna arrived the very next day, but he believes that the redistribution was incorrect: “The redistribution was incorrect if it was political and if it was from the county prefect. County prefects have no authority to dispose of money in such a disaster. Only the professionals can distribute that money, the priorities must be the problems that have arisen. Yes, the county prefect gave less money to Petrinja, which suffered the most in the earthquake. Time will show if the distribution is fair, we have a lot of work to do, I do not want politics, but I will be fair and strict when it comes to Petrinja.”
He added that he was not interested in the Zagreb Act: “Parliament must debate this in a few days. I am not interested in the Law on Zagreb because these areas still have an elementary struggle for survival. Here, a square meter of a house was 150 euros, in Zagreb the living possibilities are higher than in Petrinja. We can’t wait for the paperwork. “
Dumbović says that at the beginning, when thousands of people arrived at once, there was a huge crowd, and they could not coordinate everything because there is “not a single whole building in Petrinja where they would make an office”. He considers his communication with the headquarters and people good, and he says about the problem of Petrinja even before the earthquake:
“Unfortunately, obviously Croatia improvises when it does something. The biggest problem in Petrinja was the city’s property. Some houses collapsed like a tower of cards. In addition to containers and houses, which are now most needed, the law on spatial planning should be immediately simplified, to simplify the bureaucracy for the houses we will build. They have enough food and clothes.”
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