They continue to leave. Access to basic amenities isn’t proving enough to hold the people back in their villages. Maedtsho Gewog in Lhuentse Dzongkhag is one such example. More than half its population has moved to urban centres.
It was once a remote gewog. But now, every village in Maedtsho Gewog is connected by road. It has power supply, schools, Basic Health Unit and a community centre. But the number of empty houses continues to increase every year.
The gewog has a total population of 1,800 people. But only around 800 are living in the villages, currently. The rest, more than 1,000 people, including the students, have already left their ancestral home for urban areas.
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“Many of them leave after they are employed. When their parents die, the houses become empty,” said Maedtsho Gewog’s Gup, Tshering Samdrup.
Oongar and Shongme villages in Maedtsho Gewog have the maximum number of empty households.
Tshering Samdrup said it is becoming difficult to undertake activities in the community with many houses empty. He said those people who have left promise to do something for the community. “But they never come back.”
The only hope, the gup said, is the Land Act. Tshering Samdrup said they are keeping track of land that is not utilized. The Act says if the land is not cultivated for three years, the government will take over the land. “I hope that is a reason enough for them to return home.”
