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In 1947, an ammunition depot in Mitholz in the Bernese Oberland partially collapsed due to explosions. Hundreds of tons of explosives lie in the rubble to this day. The subject is still explosive today.
Plans are now being made to remove the dangerous ammunition residues and to free the area around Mitholz from the pollutants. This is to eliminate the risk of further explosions. However, that will cost a lot of money: The Bundesrat is asking CHF 2.59 billion for the work, which is expected to take about 25 years.
The majority of the responsible safety committee (Sik) in the National Council thinks the money is well invested – after the committee initially stopped the company for further clarification.
SVP is not satisfied
Some people in the Oberland were not at all satisfied with the suspension. They also let the members of the Goatee feel it. “I have never received so much mail about a deal,” says Mauro Tuena (51), SVP National Council member and Commission president. Some of the letters were very emotional, but neatly written.
He also received unfriendly mail. Among them was a package of sand and a fist-sized stone that had been sent anonymously. “I was told to experience the ‘Groove von Mitholz’ with it, and what it’s like to have sand and stones flying around your ears uninvited,” says Tuena.
He is not impressed by the unsolicited mail: he and his fellow party members do not want to simply agree to the loans. An SVP majority wants to return the deal to the Federal Council for further clarification and assessment of the situation regarding other variants.
In the meantime, Tuena has “returned the Mitholzer Steine to nature,” he told Blick.
20 houses are considered uninhabitable
Green National Councilor Gerhard Andrey (47) and Melanie Mettler (45) of the GLP also emphasize that they have received a large number of letters in relation to the number of those directly affected. “But this eviction has very far-reaching individual consequences, which is why I understand the intensity and emotionality,” says Andrey. The two requested members of the Sik had not received any minerals from Mitholz.
Residents of 20 houses in the village will have to leave their homes by 2025 due to munitions clearance – mine clearance is too dangerous. In Mitholz, about 50 people have been affected. The first have already moved.
Mayor wrote to Bern
The mayor of Kandergrund, to which Mitholz belongs, also wrote a letter to the politicians in Bern. Before the discussion, Roman Lanz wanted those responsible in Bern to know that only clearing the ammunition would solve the problem. “Especially for youth in the community, it’s important that the problem is solved today rather than tomorrow,” Lanz told Blick.
The population suffers from the uncertainties. In his letter to the Sik MPs, it was precisely the influence of outsiders that led to a “popular division” in the village. He does not know who is behind the Stein program for the Sik president.
The Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sports (VBS) assumes that 1,500 tons of so-called deployable ammunition are still dormant in the mountain. The DDPS does not know exactly, there are only estimates based on historical documents and findings from exploratory excavations.
Source:Blick
I am Liam Livingstone and I work in a news website. My main job is to write articles for the 24 Instant News. My specialty is covering politics and current affairs, which I’m passionate about. I have worked in this field for more than 5 years now and it’s been an amazing journey. With each passing day, my knowledge increases as well as my experience of the world we live in today.
