With monsoon rains expected in the next few months, the people of Amdrangchhu in Minjey Gewog, Lhuentse are worried due to the lack of motorable bridge over Amdrangchhu (river).
The Amdrangchhu flows between the gewog office and the village. A temporary wooden bridge currently connects the farm road with the village. Only small cars can ply across the wooden bridge.
The three-kilometer farm road from Chusa to Amdrangchhu was completed in July 2017. However, the construction of motorable bridge was not included in the contract package due to lack of budget. So without a bridge, the road is used only in winters.
Rinchen Dorji, a taxi driver from Amdrangchhu, said that the temporary wooden bridge was constructed in November last year for small vehicles. “However, during summer, we cannot use the road. I have to keep my car near the automobile workshop near Kurichu and walk home.”
Tshering Gyelmo, a resident of Amdrangchhu, said, “We are grateful to His Majesty the King and the central government for constructing a three kilometer farm road for us. However, without a bridge, it’s inconvenient for us to travel during summer.”
“For any kind of work, we have to visit the gewog office through this road but during summer it’s even difficult to walk to the gewog office,” she added.
Minjey Gup Tashi Norbu said that the gewog administration had reported the issue to the Works and Human Settlement Minister during his visit to Lhuentse Dzongkhag. The issue was also discussed in the recent Dzongkhag Tshogdu.
“When the minister and our member of parliament visited the gewog, they had agreed to provide us raw materials to construct the bridge over Amdrangchhu,” said Gup Tashi Norbu.
As there was no response from the minister, the public raised the issue at the Gewog Tshogde. The agenda was forwarded to the Dzongkhag Tshogdu and a copy of the resolution was submitted to the central government, said the Gup.
With no specific decision on the bridge construction, the residents of Amdrangchhu are bracing themselves for another difficult summer.
Sonam Tshering
