At the invitation of the Council of the Backi Petrovac Community, to mark the 260^th anniversary of the first Slovak immigration into the area, the Chairman of the Assembly, Predrag Markovic, opened the Begej river reconstruction project in Backi Petrovac. The event was also attended by Jan Szabo, chairman of the Backi Petrovac municipal assembly, Pavel Severini, deputy to the Vojvodina Parliament, officials of the Embassy of Slovakia to Serbia and Montenegro, and representatives of the Slovak National Minority Council. The project of dredging the Begej riverbed is financially assisted by the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Serbia and the Belgrade-Bratislava Fund.

Mr Markovic said that not many people know that reconstruction was not beginning now, but that it had started as early as 1997, and that the job could not be done by one man, one government and one assembly, so that it must be ensured that each individual does their share. Each person must do their “bit” for there to be benefits to all. “Money will be found; it is upon us to find something more important – the correct sequence of moves – because this is the only way we can live better. Backi Petrovac is in the best position, they will do their bit now,” Markovic said.