A 14-kilometre long Maenbi Gewog centre road in Lhuentse is a problem for motorists. The road was blacktopped in 2015. Over the years, it has developed several potholes. People say the road requires maintenance.
Unlike other gewog centre roads, hundreds of vehicles use the road. People use the road to get to Guru Padma Sambhava statue, located a few kilometres away from the gewog office.
A truck driver, Jigme Tshewang said,”The gewog centre road was not good from the beginning itself. These days the road is worse and it might be because of the monsoon. We would be grateful if the government could support us by maintaining the road.”
“It is so tiresome to use this road. The gewog administration also told us that they have reported the matter to the department of roads. Being a shopkeeper, I have to frequently travel to Monggar and Lhuentse,” said Jampel, a shopkeeper at Tangmachhu.
The department of roads in Autsho received Nu 20 M in the financial year 2019-2020 to resurface the road. However, during the reprioritization of the budget due to the pandemic, the budget was slashed.
“We have been getting budget for the routine maintenance of the gewog centre road. We also have been recruiting labourers to carry out minor maintenance work. But due to lack of budget, we are facing difficulty in carrying out the major repairing works,” said Kinzang Dorji, the Chief Engineer from the department of roads in Lingmethang.
Like any other roads filled with potholes across the country, this one too will remain the same until the government approves the budget. For now, the commuters have no choice but to use the road.
Sonam Tshering, Lhuentse
Edited by Tandin Phuntsho
