Construction works resumed in Thimphu as the government allowed all constructions activities starting today. Since the announcement of nationwide lockdown August 11, all constructions works across the country came to a halt to contain and prevent the further spread of the virus.
As the government allowed all construction works to resume from today, foreign labourers in the capital were seen busy resuming their works which they had to stop due to the nationwide lockdown.
The construction workers and the house owners were relieved and welcomed the government’s decision to allow all construction works.
“Before lockdown, everything was going well and works were also going smoothly. However, since the lockdown, I had a tough time managing food and vegetables for the 30 Indian labourers and 15 Bhutanese individuals working at my construction site. But now we are happy to resume our construction works,” said Sangay Dorji, a house owner in Thimphu.
“During the lockdown, we had a few problems with regard to supplies of food and vegetables. We are glad the lockdown has been lifted for now, let’s see what happens hereafter,” shared Mahboob Alam, a construction worker.
“It has been 21 days without working and we have not earned anything during this lockdown period. And one of our friends has been hit hard by the lockdown as his mother expired back at home in India last week. He was supposed to leave two days before the lockdown, however, he was stuck here,” added Nipen Bala, also a construction worker.
As per the press release from the Prime Minister’s Office, all construction activities are to be limited within the premises and workers must live at the site only. Likewise, ration and essentials should be provided at the working site. However, the transport of raw materials to worksites will be allowed only after the third day, when the movement of vehicles is permitted.
Meanwhile, the press release also mandates all offices to open and operate fulltime starting September 7. However, the management have been asked to prepare for offices to operate within the COVID-19 norms and practice strict physical distancing at workplaces. The offices can also introduce work from home option or shift system for now.
And in sports, the government has only allowed the public to take part in non-contact sports such as badminton and tennis starting from today. However, sports like swimming, archery and snooker which involve exposure and close contact are disallowed. Moreover, tournaments of any kind have been disallowed. Which means, the ongoing Bhutan Premier League 2020, will have to wait for a while to resume. Only six matches were played since the start of the Bhutan Premier League last month. For now, the Bhutan Olympic Committee has been asked to determine the list of sports that are permissible during the phase. Currently, BOC is working on categorising non-contact sports and contact sports. Likewise, it is also developing a comprehensive SOP’s for all federations to follow in such times. The federation expects to complete and submit the list of sports that are permissible during the phase to the government by this week.
Passang Dorji
