Stojan Velkov Trn leads daily protests in Bosilovo against smoke from village dump

Every day between 12:00 and 13:00 car sirens and whistles sound in the centre of Bosilovo as a show of support for actor and activist Stojan Velkov Trn. Velkov began staging a protest in front of the Municipality of Bosilovo to draw attention to smoke that spreads daily from the village dump and to the health risks it poses for residents, especially children.

"The only thing that can push you when you breathe poisonous smoke is that, for I don't know which time, we bring it into our lungs, both we and our children. The only incentive is that we know we inhale it every day and that it harms the body and, of course, leads to undesired consequences in the form of illnesses," Velkov said, identifying health concerns as the main reason for his protest.

Velkov has been raising the alarm about the dump for years and has repeatedly called for a safer waste-management system with stronger sorting at source. He promoted those changes while serving as an independent municipal councilor, but measures introduced then did not produce lasting results and, he says, the situation has slipped back.

Municipal reply and past measures

The Municipality of Bosilovo says the dump is cleaned regularly and asks residents not to leave waste at the entrance, because that complicates waste-management operations and obstructs safe access. Local officials have previously suspected that some fires were started deliberately and have proposed installing CCTV at the site.

Velkov says his daily presence outside the municipal building and the hourly sirens are intended to keep pressure on local authorities and to show that residents are watching. "That is the motive that drives us all the time as activists and as an association, but also me as a parent and as a person who lives in this village and in this municipality, to give one voice, to make it known that someone monitors this, that someone will constantly be here and will remind them they must finish their job," he said.

The protests continue until authorities deliver a durable solution for waste handling and for preventing the repeated emissions of smoke from the village dump.

Photo: press material from the event