In Sarajevo, rapid hillside construction raises landslide risk

SARAJEVO - Bosnian pensioner Vejsil Kajanija has a new routine - every day he walks to inspect large faults in the ground that have appeared since construction began on the slopes above his historic Sarajevo neighbourhood.

Some are deep, large enough to jump across, and they are widening, raising the risk of landslides just as winter rains pick up after a dry summer, Kajanija, local officials and experts said. Authorities have already evacuated some homes in the area while construction continues.

Kajanija, 71, lives within Bosnia's Bosniak-Croat Federation, but the construction is taking place high above on Trebevic mountain, part of which falls within the territory of the Serb Republic, Bosnia's other autonomous entity, which authorised the development.

"The situation is getting worse," Kajanija said as he looked at the cracks and the exposed soil beneath. "The land has been eroding and descending here under pressure," he said.

The Serb Republic declined to comment.

The Bosnian capital, with a population of 300,000, sits in a mountainous valley whose steep sides are lined with residential neighbourhoods. In recent years, construction of luxury apartments and hotels on higher ground above Sarajevo's picturesque old town offers far-flung views but jeopardises the safety of areas below, according to the Bosniak-Croat Federation.

Public fear of landslides has grown since a quarry collapsed last month in the village of Donja Jablanica during flooding, killing 19 and burying houses and business under mud and stone.

"These faults are over one metre wide, 40 metres long and 5.5 metres deep," said Fuad Babic, a landslide expert who has compiled a list of protection measures for the Sarajevo authorities. "What danger do they pose to the citizens? Terrible, terrible, I don't know how they sleep at night."

Sarajevo Canton Civil Protection (CZ) this month ordered the evacuation of people from houses in the Sirokaca neighbourhood close to the site of a landslide caused by the depositing of heavy construction material, following an expert report on the risks.

"The main cause of this landslide is the embankment on Trebevic, where hotels are being built above the Sirokaca neighbourhood," said Armin Djono, the president of the Sirokaca local community.

The Serb Republic authorities said their inspections did not find irregularities at the construction site.

Last week, Bosniak-Croat federation Prime Minister Nermin Niksic said the two governments have agreed to work together to clear the landslide and reduce danger for Sarajevo citizens.

But implementing recommendations, including installing drainage pipes and fences, takes time and the two regions making up post-war Bosnia have to coordinate.

Meanwhile, construction work in the area above Kajanija's neighbourhood carries on.

"We are facing rain, frost, snow - there is a real danger that all this will slide down towards the city," said Kemal Cacan, an assistant to CZ's director. "The question is not if but when it will happen."

(Reporting by Daria Sito-Sucic; Editing by Edward McAllister, Alexandra Hudson)