A stretch of the old national highway along the Langthil Gewog office and Yuedroongchhoeling Dzong in Trongsa is in dire need of maintenance. Residents and commuters are frustrated by the road’s poor condition. They said the road maintenance was ignored after a bypass was opened to traffic a couple of years ago from Dangdung village.
Nearly 10 kilometres of the stretch is severely damaged. The condition is worse when it rains. The residents and commuters have been putting up with this poor road condition for more than five years.
“The gewog and the department of roads office have not cared to maintain the road after the new bypass was opened to traffic. A few of the buses used to travel via this road but they stopped after the road condition worsened,” said Da Wangdi, a resident.
“People from the other side of the river, Yuedroongchhoeling, Bayling and students use this road. It is a problem when they have to cross this road,” said Dawa Choden, another resident.
“Children dirty their clothes and shoes within a day because of the road condition. So, we would be grateful if the road and the drain are maintained,” said Lham Choden, another resident.
“If we take this route, it’s faster to reach the Gewog office and Langthil town. But with no road maintenance, we have to take the route via bypass,” said Pem Singye.
As per the local authorities, the road was blacktopped in 2018. However, it did not last long.
“The blacktopping did not last even two years. And the gewog could not do much. Had we utilized the available gewog funds here, it would have been a waste as the Mangdechhu Hydropower Project uses the road most,” said Tenzinla, Langthil Tshogpa.
According to the district administration, the department of roads regional office took over the road maintenance and restoration works in 2018.
And the department said they could not carry out major maintenance due to a lack of budget although they have been undertaking minor maintenance works.
Passang, Trongsa
Edited by Sonam Pem
