These are shelters where Kosovars can hide in case of emergency

All are located in the Pristina municipality and are inherited from the former Yugoslavia.

The shelter is an object or part of an object that is built and equipped with ventilation tools and other essential residential equipment, which provide accommodation and protection from natural disasters and other disasters, but in order to protect people in case of war or other dangers.

Experts on security issues say Kosovo institutions should also plan to preserve the lives of citizens in case of disasters, and build shelters in other municipalities, depending on the specifics of locations.

Burim Ramadani, from the Kosovar Centre for Security Studies, in a conversation for Radio Free Europe, has said that in certain cases housing was used for other purposes.

The “of course must be built and they adapt to the specifics of municipalities and municipalities. At the same time, municipalities and the Ministry of Internal Affairs must share their maintenance responsibility. A better co-ordination by the Government of Kosovo and municipalities -- the emergency directorates, respectively -- would function as a joint action to accommodate citizens in case of disasters, be it natural or man”, Ramadani says.

On the other hand, outgoing Government officials told Kosovo Radio Free Europe that no new shelter was built, while management and construction are local level competence.

Mustaf Gashi, of the Emergency Management Agency, which operates under the Ministry of Internal Affairs, shows that in case of disasters, the Government and municipalities should provide the necessary housing and supply of citizens who, due to natural disasters or other disasters, have been left without housing, as well as the means to life.

“As to their construction is local level competence. In certain cases, on the basis of escalation of the degree of risklessness and the symmetry need to build any shelter in a certain municipality, the government can intervene with subsidies”, Gashi says.

However, Pristina municipality officials, where shelters are found, show that three of the six shelters are in regular condition, while three say they are out of office.

Pristina municipality spokesman Adonis Tahiri tells Radio Free Europe that in cases of danger in these shelters, about 1,400 people could be deployed for a certain time. Tahiri says there has been no need for exploitation so far.

“The housing type is not functional, due to various problems. It's old construction, it's damaged and we haven't been able to operate yet. But there are also cases that there may be usurpations in various spaces within them”, Tahiri says.

Based on the Law on Protection From Natural Disasters and Other Disasters, evacuation of endangered residents is said to be made unless their safety is guaranteed by other measures. Government, mayor of the municipality, or competent commander of forces for protection and rescue from natural disasters and other disasters may make the decision on evacuation.

Locals are used to accommodate people in public places, or to that end, appropriate objects are adopted.

The shelters, for basic shelters, must offer protection from oppression, decay, radioactive sands, fires, and the effects of chemical matter.

The shelters, for supplementary protection, must offer protection from collapses.