Thefts threaten Kosovo railway
Wednesday, June 6, 2007
MOUNTING theft on Kosovo's railways is threatening to bring a halt to its train services, the main mode of transport in the impoverished Balkan territory.
Virtually deserted, the station at the hamlet of Belacevac, northwest of Pristina, resembles a junkyard strewn with rusty metal left behind by the looters of some 50 gutted carriages.
Since the end of its 1998-1999 war, the plunder of railway infrastructure — including tracks, key communication cables and even platform speakers — has increased at an alarming rate in Kosovo.
The equipment is stripped away for resale on the black market of the disputed southern province of Serbia that since the conflict has been managed by the United Nations.
At about 10 euro cents (13 US cents) a kilogramme, the scrap metal fetches the thieves a relatively stable income for Kosovo, where those in work take home an average wage of €150 (US$200) a month.
"The situation is quite alarming and, if it continues, Kosovo Railways will come to a critical point and be forced to shut down their activities," said Kosovo Railways manager Xhevat Ramosaj.
The plunder cost the company more than €740,000 (US$995,000) in 2006 and has surpassed €90,000 in the first three months of this year, according to officials.
"This is a tremendous amount of money ... If the rate of the thefts persists, the losses will amount to some 400,000 euros by the end of the year," said Ramosaj.
"No company could survive such losses, let alone Kosovo Railways" whose 350 staff are battling to ensure the continuation of services on the 336km network, he said.
Though technically still a Serbian territory, Kosovo has been run by a UN mission since Nato bombing drove out Belgrade-controlled forces in 1999 over a brutal crackdown on the province's ethnic Albanian majority.
For the Serbs who have since remained in Nato-protected enclaves of Kosovo despite fears of revenge attacks, the province's railways represent a lifeline to Serbia proper.
Milun Rajic, a Serb from the tiny enclave of Bresje, 12km from Pristina, takes two train services through northern Kosovo each weekend to visit his children who took refuge in southern Serbia in 1999.
AFP
Virtually deserted, the station at the hamlet of Belacevac, northwest of Pristina, resembles a junkyard strewn with rusty metal left behind by the looters of some 50 gutted carriages.
Since the end of its 1998-1999 war, the plunder of railway infrastructure — including tracks, key communication cables and even platform speakers — has increased at an alarming rate in Kosovo.
The equipment is stripped away for resale on the black market of the disputed southern province of Serbia that since the conflict has been managed by the United Nations.
At about 10 euro cents (13 US cents) a kilogramme, the scrap metal fetches the thieves a relatively stable income for Kosovo, where those in work take home an average wage of €150 (US$200) a month.
"The situation is quite alarming and, if it continues, Kosovo Railways will come to a critical point and be forced to shut down their activities," said Kosovo Railways manager Xhevat Ramosaj.
The plunder cost the company more than €740,000 (US$995,000) in 2006 and has surpassed €90,000 in the first three months of this year, according to officials.
"This is a tremendous amount of money ... If the rate of the thefts persists, the losses will amount to some 400,000 euros by the end of the year," said Ramosaj.
"No company could survive such losses, let alone Kosovo Railways" whose 350 staff are battling to ensure the continuation of services on the 336km network, he said.
Though technically still a Serbian territory, Kosovo has been run by a UN mission since Nato bombing drove out Belgrade-controlled forces in 1999 over a brutal crackdown on the province's ethnic Albanian majority.
For the Serbs who have since remained in Nato-protected enclaves of Kosovo despite fears of revenge attacks, the province's railways represent a lifeline to Serbia proper.
Milun Rajic, a Serb from the tiny enclave of Bresje, 12km from Pristina, takes two train services through northern Kosovo each weekend to visit his children who took refuge in southern Serbia in 1999.
AFP
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