ZAGREB, 28 Aug, 2021 - A protest rally was held in the town of Novigrad na Dobri on Saturday against the hydro-power plant "HE Lešće" on the River Dobra, with protesters pointing out the plant's detrimental effects.

The rally brought together about 300 participants: locals, activists as well as representatives of local authorities. They warned about the damage done to the flora and fauna in the environment and highlighted the erosion of the banks of the River Dobra.

Karlovac County Prefect Martina Furdek-Hajdin told the rally that the state-run Croatian power company (HEP) has assumed the obligation to inform the local 112 centre and the public when the Lešće power plant's turbines were turned on to release tidal energy.

She said that the local authorities were doing their best to prevent the recurrence of bad experience.

In 2010 the then Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor inaugurated the trial run of Lešće, the first hydroelectric power plant built in Croatia since it gained independence in 1991. During that ceremony, it was said that this HRK 700 million power plant, located on the Dobra river, had a capacity of 42.29 megawatts and would produce 98 gigawatt hours of electricity per year.

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