Zhemgang town is plagued with several urban issues ranging from growing waste concerns, a shortage of cleaners to the lack of some urban amenities. The town was declared a dzongkhag thromde by the parliament in 2015.
The densely grown grasses are a common sight in the core town area of Zhemgang, which stretches from Kotarpong to the fuel depot. Apart from occupying open spaces, the bushes attract snakes to seek shelter, posing risks to the residents.
It also serves as an ideal spot to discard wastes such as pet bottles and chips covers. The town produces about four truckloads of waste once a week.
The District Municipal Office and the Thromde Ngotshab (Representative) initiated a cleanup campaign over the weekend.
As part of the cleaning exercise, residents were assigned to clear all the bushes within the town locality.
However, this didn’t go down well with the residents. They felt their responsibilities are to maintain cleanliness only around the surroundings of their residences.
“I think thromde representative must ask the absentee individual thram owners to clean their own areas. We are not going to clean for them. We will do only our part to clean our premises,” said one of the residents in Zhemgang town, Lham Dorji.
Others were on a similar page.
“I will clean only my area. I will not cut the grasses there in the open spaces. It is not my responsibility,” added another resident, Cheki.
“It is the municipal’s responsibility because they have paid labourers to do these works. They should clear or clean the entire town area. Otherwise, they will ask the business community to clean the town,” commented Yuden, who also lives in the town area.
The town also doesn’t have a proper drainage system as some of the wastewater from the households is released alongside the highway. This often floods the road.
“We can see drains are not properly maintained in the middle of the town. It also emits a foul smell, which can affect people’s health,” pointed out Nima Wangchuk, a visitor from Dungbi under Trong Gewog.
The district municipal officials said they have an acute shortage of cleaners, so had to ask the residents to clear the bushes.
“We are planning to recruit additional cleaners very soon. By then, we can clear the bushes in and around the town and also clean clogged drains. We are hoping these problems to be solved at the earliest,” told Tshewang Dorji, In-charge of the District Municipal Office to BBS.
Zhemgang town has more than 2,300 residents.
Pema Samdrup, Zhemgang
Edited by Pema Lhaden
