Veles mayor proposes distributing bags to carriage owners to tackle street manure
Mayor Marko Kolev says existing fines fail and proposes the municipality buy and distribute bags to carriage owners.
Residents of Veles have repeatedly complained about animal waste left on streets by horse-drawn carriages, and the issue was raised again at a recent municipal council session by councilor Mirjana Petrushevska-Savova.
"Manure from horse-drawn carriages is a serious problem in the town. It's present on the streets that lead to the City Market, but also on other roads where these traditional carriages are used. Owners must take responsibility so the manure does not end up on the roadway. That's how it's done elsewhere in the world; we are in the 21st century," Petrushevska-Savova said.
Council decision from September 2016 still in force
The municipal council adopted a decision in September 2016 — ten years ago — that obliges people who operate horse-drawn vehicles or lead livestock through town to carry hygiene equipment: a bag, broom and a small shovel to collect animal waste while moving.
Mayor Marko Kolev said the rules exist but fines have limited effect because many owners lack identity documents or registered property. "We have a council decision. Whoever uses a horse, a donkey in town, must respect it. After the traffic police began impounding vehicles for traffic offences, these draft animals returned to traffic in the town. There are more and more of them. I give both written and oral orders to the municipal inspector who goes out to the field, educates them, contacts them, asks them, informs them what obligations they have. And fines them. That fine does not work, they have neither ID nor property. It remains for us as the local government to buy such bags and distribute them to the owners," the mayor said.
The council text also states that if animal waste is created on public surfaces, the person operating the carriage or the livestock is obliged to remove the waste from the spot where it was created; otherwise the municipal utility company JKP "Derven" will remove it at the expense of the person responsible. The rules foresee mandatory fines for offenders.
Photo: SDK.MK)
