The residents living along the Trailing and Jarung Khashor road in Monggar are complaining about dust pollution. The project to widen and blacktop the road began in 2020. Officials said it was delayed due to the pandemic.
The three-kilometre internal road between Trailing and Jarungkhashor was widened but the blacktop is yet to be complete. With many vehicles using the road, the area is covered in dust. More than 1,000 people live in the area which is just outside the Monggar town.
“We could not understand clearly about the construction work. Maybe the government does not have an adequate budget or perhaps there are lapses from the contractor’s side. We are facing a lot of inconveniences because of the dust,” said Karma Tshering, a resident of Trailing.
“These days children are on vacation but when they have to go to school, they suffer from diseases such as cough and cold due to the dust. And even if we dry our clothes outside, it gets covered with dust,” said Namgay Tenzin, another resident.
“Our children play outside in the dust. And during windy days, the dust gets into our home causing inconveniences even while eating. Initially, the construction company used to sprinkle water on the road but not anymore,” said Sangay Tenzin, another resident.
The road was supposed to be blacktopped in January this year. But the pandemic delayed the progress. The residents want the district administration to intervene to expedite the work. They want the drains, footpaths and walls to be constructed first.
“The work must speed up now. The Dzongkhag administration might have also issued a notice to the contractor,” said Karma Tshering.
“It is high time to blacktop the road now. If the blacktopping work starts soon, most of the residents living along the road won’t face such problems,” said Namgay Tenzin.
But the project manager of the construction company said the blacktopping work will start within two weeks.
An engineer from the district administration said the works will complete by the end of next month. The contractor was given a three-month time extension due to the pandemic.
Sonam Tshering, Monggar
