The pothole-laden road from Samtse zero point towards Bhudini River has commuters irked. The road stretch of about two kilometres has not seen any renovation works for a few years now. Locals say, it is all dusty in the winter, and now in summer sludge water with potholes is creating havoc.
The road leads to seven of the 15 gewogs in Samtse. A few hundred meters into the road and this is what greets you. A two-kilometre stretch of potholes filled mud and sludge. The culprit, hundreds of these overloaded trucks ferrying stones and stone aggregates from the dredging site nearby for export to Bangladesh.
“These trucks carrying stones to Bangladesh have destroyed the road. There is no maintenance being carried out. I don’t know if the government should do the repair works or the ones dredging stones. If it is maintained quickly, we the taxi drivers and others will benefit,” Dorji said.
“We have to use this road frequently. No matter what work we have, anything to buy, we have to come to Samtse. Don’t know what to do. Our car gets hit now and then. Whom do we complain to?” Ram Bdr. Chhetri said.
Some two months ago, before the monsoon set in, the road condition was not as worst as it is now. And the inconveniences caused are not just during summer.
“No one maintains this road. In winter, dust becomes unbearable. No one investigates that. In summer, this condition of the road damages small vehicles. The stone carrying trucks jam the traffic and those who have important works like going to hospital and schools, get stranded,” Ugyen, a resident, said.
“When we travel, the road is filled with water. We can’t even see if there are potholes. If we take the risk then our car gets bumped. It hits the car’s guards, suspensions and bends it. To repair those, it costs more than what we earn. It is inconvenient,” said another resident, Dorji.
The chief engineer with the Department of Roads in Samtse said that the road stretch is due for resurfacing works but no budget has been sanctioned despite making proposals every year.
He added, “the road pavement is not yet strengthened to resist loads of the overloaded trucks. Total reconstruction has to be taken to achieve the required structural integrity.”
The budget proposal for this year has been made but according to the chief engineer, it is not yet sanctioned.
For light vehicles, there is a diversion, which starts from the police camp and runs through the Dhamdum Industrial Park. But even this road is not blacktopped and is filled with potholes from the very beginning till the end.
