With not even a month left for the country to reopen its tourism, relevant agencies in the capital have come together to clean and beautify the city. However, much to their disappointment, overflowing sewers and litter discarded everywhere in the city have gone overboard. They say unless every person imbibes a civic sense or shoulders a responsibility, these problems will never be put to rest.
Thimphu Thromde, Bhutan Red Cross Society and DeSuups are making sure that the capital city, which usually welcomes the highest number of tourists, looks clean and beautiful.
They are painting the parapets of roads and collecting garbage within the city. Apart from these works, they are planting flowers and clearing unpleasant-looking bushes.
Despite all these efforts to give a facelift to the town, overflowing manholes along the roads and throwing waste in open spaces remains a challenge. The recent sewerage overflow near the Bhutan Telecom junction at Chubachu is an unsolved issue for many years now.
“It has been many years now. The bad smell is torturing us. I have a small restaurant and I don’t get many customers. The ones that come don’t stay for long. They complain about the bad smell from the septic tank leakages. People always complain about the bad smell, says Dorji Wangchuk, who runs an eatery in Chubachu.
Passang Tenzin, who runs a shop in Chubachu also complains about sewers spilling over the area.
“I have stayed here at Chubachu for over three years. The septic tank leakage is not a new thing now. It has been like this for the past few years. I have a small shop just nearby and it is very difficult to live there because of the bad smell,” he adds.
According to Thimphu Thromde, the overflowing of sewers and their blockages are due to the careless flushing of sanitary pads, wretched cloth pieces, and debris directly into manhole chambers.
One of the stakeholders involved in revamping the city, the Bhutan Red Cross Society said people still lack the common sense of managing their waste.
“We tried cleaning the coronation park but our efforts went in vain. Since many people are gathering there, the place is filled with leftover wastes,” shares Ugyen Phuntsho, the coordinator of Bhutan Red Cross Society (BRCS) in Thimphu.
His views were echoed by other officials from the BRCS.
“When we open this country to tourism, we want to welcome tourists and make this country a clean and green one. After every cleaning campaign, right after a few days, it again becomes untidy with rubbish,” comments Sangay Tshong, Project Coordinator of Bhutan Red Cross Society.
From the thromde’s side, they have informed and sensitised people through social media to refrain from flushing things that would block the sewer lines and take responsibility to handle the waste.
They have also installed CCTV cameras in various locations to nab people for illegal waste disposal.
A few days ago, some residents were caught dumping waste in restricted areas through the CCTV camera. Thromde will penalise them as per the rules and regulations (https://fb.watch/fcm4hZ8TeI/).
According to the National Solid Waste Inventory Survey 2019, Thimphu generates the highest amount of waste in the country.
Therefore, if people inculcate civic sense and have collective responsibility, these persistent problems can be addressed for once and for all.
Tshering Dendup
Edited by Pema Lhaden
