Close to 20 new cars hit the road every day as per records with the Road Safety and Transport Authority in Thimphu. As the number of cars keeps increasing, automobile wastes, particularly in Thimphu have increased overwhelmingly. Without a proper space and trade after the closure of borders, almost all the automobile wastes are piling up just below the Olarongchhu bridge near the river. Although environmentalists say that the scrapyard poses a threat to the surrounding environment, Thimphu Thromde said that the storage facility is temporary.
Wastes from the residents in makeshift houses at the location and many automobile wastes directly go into the Olarongchhu stream. Over 10 people live beside the river in makeshift shelters. With no municipal waste collectors visiting them, a part of their waste are also dumped directly into the river.
Anyone can clearly see the car scrapyard just below the Olarongchhu bridge near the Olakha automobile workshop. The scrapyard is located just beside the Olarongchhu. Environmentalists say that leachate ( contaminated liquid that is generated from water percolating through a solid waste disposal site), effluent and waste from the scrap yard could impact the health of the river. According to the Water Act of Bhutan 2011, under the “Development upon bed and banks of watercourses” Section, “No person shall develop or otherwise encroach upon bed and banks of watercourses and a strip of land the width thereof as determined in Regulations under this Act except for operation and implementation of activities with an environmental clearance.” However, Thimphu Thromde said that the storage facility is just for the time being.
Thimphu thromde also added that Environmental Clearance is not required as it is in the list of activities that do not require environmental clearance.
Ever since the closure of international borders and lockdown in the country, workshop owners and automobile dealers could not export much. But the scraps kept on increasing in workshops which eventually landed up there.
“We buy damaged cars but in Bhutan, we are only able to sell their parts and not the whole body. Ever since the COVID-19 pandemic, we ran out of space to keep the scraps. That is why we had to keep it here. But we are planning to export as soon as the restrictions are eased,” said Mongal Singh Limbu, a scrapyard owner.
Thimphu Thromde said that although it has asked the scrap dealers to leave the area, they were given a time extension understanding the COVID-19 situation.
The area which is proposed to be an Inter-district bus terminal area was levelled and cleared to serve as a storage space for the unclaimed scrap vehicles and machinery on a temporary basis. However, environmentalists in various fields BBS talked to said that the site will pollute the river if it stays for long.
Tshering Dendup
