Shooting stones create havoc in Pasakha

Jul 31, 2012

Unlike the past years, this year the monsoon has been creating havoc in Pasakha in Phuentsholing. After the recent flood which damaged a bridge, now it is shooting stones from a slide area opposite BFAL and BCCI colonies posing threats to the passers-by.

It has also affected the school and industrial estate. It has been almost two weeks since the slide was first reported.

Our reporter, Sonam Wangdi, says that with most of the students coming from across the slide area, it has become risky for the students to go to school. As a result, the school remained closed last week.

The school is now running short of academic sessions to cover the syllabus in time. Even as the school re-opened yesterday, students were stranded at the site while returning home after school. Without any alternate routes, they had to wait for more than an hour for the road to clear.

Passers-by have to run across the slide area risking their lives. They have to constantly watch out for the falling boulders. Two policemen deployed at the site manage safe flow of traffic and people.

“Leave alone for small school going children, even for older children, it is quite risky to cross this area,” said one of the passers-by.

“It’s risky to get across. Every five minutes stones fall. And travelling is more risky at night,” said another one.

Most of the 21 operating industries across the slide area have also been affected. Trucks carrying raw materials and employees of the industries are stuck at the slide for hours. To avoid travel of their employees during night time, the industries have also rescheduled their working hours. Construction of a temporary bridge over Barsa river is seen as a solution to the problem. With it, people do not have to cross the slide area.

The issue is currently with the Thromde office. Meanwhile, the Department of Roads said the area is not technically feasible for any kind of constructions. For now, they can only clear the road as an when the need arises.