The lack of bridges over two streams in Mewangang, Goshing Gewog, Zhemgang has made life difficult for the people living there. Mewangang is about 10 km away from Goshing Gewog centre and has 26 households.
Mewangang stream appears small during winter but creates havoc during the monsoon season, cutting off the village completely for most of the summer months. The monsoon rains swell the small streams and make it impassable.
Mewangang Tshogpa, Drakpa, said that this is the situation that they deal with every summer. “We request the government to prioritise building the bridges .”
People also shared that the lack of bridges makes it difficult for them to take sick and pregnant women to medical facilities. At the moment, people of Mewangang are compelled to take a long route to reach nearby road head or Gewog Centre for emergency works.
Villagers said that when stream waters recede, they build temporary bamboo bridges to cross the streams but when the stream is swollen, the temporary bridges are unable to withstand the strong currents.
Villager Tenzin Lhendup said that they had even resorted to laying Hume pipes across the streams, but even that gets washed away.“Sometimes we have to wait for weeks to cross these streams. The bridges have become absolutely necessary, it would be great if the government could construct it as a project and not as a planned Gewog activity.”
The Officiating Gup of Goshing Gewog, Pema Samdrup, said that the construction of bridges over two streams in Mewangang is planned in the 12th FYP, however, the bridges that need to be built are big and require expertise and a huge budget. “The Gewog does not have the capacity to carry out big projects and so the proposal has been sent to the dzongkhag administration.”
Meanwhile, villagers are continuing to put pressure on the local government as well as elected members from their constituency to construct suspension bridges as a permanent solution to their problem.
Pema Samdrup
