Twenty-two households of Wangling village of Monpa community in Trongsa missed paddy transplantation for almost three years now. And the community is likely to miss paddy transplantation this season as well. The Gewog and the District Administration could not come up with a permanent solution after a landslide washed away the irrigation canal in 2018.
However, the recent Dzongkhag Tshogdu held last week decided to re-prioritise the restoration works of the irrigation canal in the next financial year.
Residents said the flash flood eroded the irrigation canal to about 120 meters stretch in 2018. Following the disaster, the mitigation works were carried out but the community and the gewog administration could not repair its formal structure.
“The paddy saplings are ready for transplantation. However, we are worried as there is no water in the irrigation canal. Some did not plant the paddy saplings due to lack of water,” said Yontenmo, a resident of Wangling village.
“Initially, the landslides were minor. But due to a lack of immediate response and skills to mitigate, we couldn’t do anything. So, the erosion turned into bigger landslides later on. And this failed 70 per cent of our paddy cultivation. We could achieve only about 10 per cent with rainwater,” added Sangay Dorji, another resident.
“Though the complete restoration works may not be possible this year. We would be grateful if at least a temporary measure could be taken by providing us with pipes. This would help us revive the fallow lands too,” said Drumila, another resident.
“Landslides eroded the pipes and now the erosion is becoming wider and bigger in the above areas,” said Lhachum.
According to the concerned officials, the restorations works were beyond the capacity of the Gewog and Dzongkhag. Hence, recently a team of experts from Thimphu inspected the site and planned solutions accordingly.
“The engineers from Thimphu who visited the sites suggested that the restorations would be possible if a mechanical excavator is deployed and pipes are put underneath the landslides area,” said Sonam Dhendup, the Langthil Gup.
“They have come up with four possible options. But the easiest is as shared by the Langthil gup to fix the issue with the temporary measure by fixing the pipes. And to follow the other three, it is going to take time and incur a huge budget which is impossible for now,” added Karma Wangdi, the assistant Dzongkhag Agriculture Officer.
For now, the community can only wait for the restoration works to begin soon and hope for a permanent solution.
Paddy cultivation covers almost 80 acres of the total arable land in the gewog. Currently, the farmers cultivate maize, potatoes and other cereals that require less water.
Passang, Trongsa
