Rijkswaterstaat is going to report vandalism because of the damage caused by dumping waste and burning hay bales on roads. The government service also reports threats and slander surrounding the farmers’ protests. That’s what director-general Michèle Blom of Rijkswaterstraat said in the talk show on Thursday evening Renze.
“Our people are threatened and intimidated. Not only our employees, but also the contractors we deploy to clear this up. This is really going too far,” says Blom.
In protest against the government’s nitrogen policy, asbestos, waste, straw bales and car tires have been dumped on several highways in recent days. “It concerns our property that has been damaged. Costs are incurred to restore it. We want to recover them.”
According to Blom, the damage is in the hundreds of thousands of euros. Threats come in at Rijkswaterstaat at, among other places, the customer contact center and via e-mail, according to the spokesman.
Multiple contractor workers were harassed on Wednesday as they cleaned up rubbish dumped by farmers on a highway. The cleaning up of manure, hay and asbestos on the A1 near Voorst (Overijssel) was therefore discontinued. Contractors have also been intimidated in other places, Rijkswaterstaat told NU.nl.
Also blockages and accidents on Thursday
Also on Thursday, farmers erected blockades on highways. For example, a pile of car tires was dumped on the A7 near Leek. On the A35 near Azelo in Twente, farmers closed all lanes in both directions. They had a barbecue there. They broke up the blockade around 5 p.m. The authorities did not intervene.
The dumping of waste has led to several accidents. For example, a motorist drove over rubbish on the driveway of the A32 near Meppel on Wednesday. The car was a total loss, but the person was not injured.
Two accidents occurred on the A7 on Thursday morning, in which cars were damaged. The police will investigate who is responsible for the dumped waste.