A ropeway over the Mochhu has become the lifeline for the residents of Bali village of Chhubu Gewog in Punakha. Almost half of the households in the village use it every day to get to the other side of the river and to transport their farm produce.
Every Thursday evening, farmers at Bali village in Chhubu Gewog get busy. They start shifting their vegetables on the banks of the Mochhu. They normally take their produce to the nearest market to sell them the next day.
There are about 30 households in Bali and almost everyone cultivates vegetables for commercial purposes.
Once they have stacked up the vegetables, they start transporting them using the ropeway over Mochhu. The farmers help each other reach their produce on the other side. But this is not an easy task.
They have to risk their lives, especially during the rainy season when the river swells. A contractor installed the ropeway last year while constructing the farm road to Bali.
“Sometimes, we fear getting stuck in the middle of the bearings if the ropeway gets damaged. Moreover, it’s very scary at this time as the river is extremely swollen,” said Tshering Dorji, a resident of Bali village.
Although they have an old route connected by a suspension bridge, the farmers of Bali prefer the ropeway. They say it shortens the travel time by more than half an hour.
“Only households with mules and enough manpower use the old route. But for us, we have to take risks and use the ropeway. We don’t have mules and manpower like them,” said Kinley Bidha, another resident of the village.
“I prefer taking the ropeway since it’s expensive to pay for the mules to take the old route. Mule charges are very high. We have to pay Nu 250 per mule to transport our goods,” added Namgay Thinley, another resident.
However, their days of taking the risky ropeway will likely be over sooner. The construction of a 150-feet bailey bridge is underway right below where they have the ropeway.
As per the district administration, the bridge construction that began in December 2020 got delayed due to lockdowns. The unavailability of skilled labourers and increase in the cost of materials amid the pandemic also impacted the works’ progress.
“Bridges in other places that were tendered and constructed at the same time as ours are now functional. But in our case, the construction keeps on getting delayed by blaming the lockdowns and non-availability of materials,” said Bali Tshogpa Phurba.
The completion of the bridge which was planned for September last year is now scheduled to be ready by the end of this month.
According to the district administration, the contractor is currently in India negotiating the price of bridge parts. The materials are expected to reach the site by this week. The officials said everything goes as planned it will only take about 10 days to launch the bridge.
Changa Dorji, Punakha
Edited by Phub Gyem
