With the monsoon at the doorstep, people of Chhudzom Gewog in Sarpang are worried, once again, about the erratic road connectivity. Without a blacktopping, the gewog centre’s road remains in a bad shape during the rainy season.
Every time it rains heavily, there are either landslides along the stretch or parts of it are washed away. This leaves villagers of Chuddzom Gewog cut-off from the rest for days on end. Today, the gewog is the only one in Sarpang without a blacktopped road.
“This road was constructed some six or seven years ago. Considering its present condition, the need for blacktopping is immediate. It hasn’t been even resurfaced. We have to travel through a slippery road,” said Chandralal Acharya, from Chhudzom Gewog in Sarpang.
The road’s poor condition also means more damages to the vehicles plying, and the journey, time-consuming. At the moment, it takes three to four hours to reach Gelegphu town, which is around 50 kilometres away, from the gewog.
According to Chhudzom Gup, as per the plan, the road was supposed to be cleared by 2011. But the contractor failed to meet the deadline and the contract was terminated.
The roads department then took over the remaining works. It took the office more time in cutting through a cliff while widening and resurfacing the road. And as of now, only 11 kilometres of the works remain. Once this is complete, the gup says the road will be blacktopped.
Karma Wangdi
