Jomotshangkha- Samrang highway construction in Samdrup Jongkhar scheduled to complete by this month is delayed due to continuous heavy rainfall.
Without the internal road connection, Jomotshangkha Dungkhag has been cut off from the rest of the country since March 23.
The highway construction had resumed in April this year after a gap of seven months. The Department of Roads in Samdrup Jongkhar in April had said, they were hopeful Project Dantak will be able to make the road motorable within July.
However, the Chief Engineer of Department of Roads in Samdrup Jongkhar said about 13 km of the road still needs to be cleared. He said this stretch is between river Nunai and Kalanadi and it is not possible to cross it during heavy rainfall. He said, recently the swollen Kalanidi river also washed the foundation of a bailey bridge construction at the river.
The Chief Engineer added that if the weather does not improve it may take another two to three months to make the road motor-able.
Meanwhile, people in the Dungkhag who have not been able to travel anywhere for over three months following the border closure continue to hope for the road construction to complete soon.
Once the highway is complete, Jomotshangkha Dungkhag will be connected to its district headquarter in Samdrup Jongkhar by an internal road link. It will also shorten the journey by 40 km. Prior to the border closure, people used to travel 190 km along the Indian highway to get to Samdrup Jongkhar.
Kinley Wangchuk
