One of the major suppliers of sand to the West and Central parts, the Wangdue Phodrang NRDCL seems to be running short of supply. Private truckers say they have to wait for several days before they can get a truckload of sand.
About 30-40 trucks wait for their turns at the Rinchhengang sand stockyard located in Wangdue Phodrang. Some have been waiting for as long as four days, just to get a truckload.
All of them are private truckers waiting to transport sand to construction sites in Thimphu and other districts. The truckers say this problem started about a month ago.
“It was convenient when the NRDCL used to notify us of the date and time of our turn. We could also do some other work until our turns arrived,” said Tashi Dorji. “But now we are called here right away and once the vehicle is registered, we cannot leave until we get our supply even if we have to wait for several days.”
Another trucker, Sangay Norbu, says he has been at the depot for the last two days. “I don’t know whether my turn will come up even tomorrow. It’s quite worrisome and concerning, I don’t even have a place to stay.”
“It is very difficult since we get only one load of sand after waiting for about four days. This will definitely affect us with our vehicle loan repayments and our livelihood,” said Sonam Wangdi.
The trucks come to the stockyard after they make the payment online and get a confirmation SMS from the NRDCL.
BBS contacted the NRDCL office in Wangdue Phodrang but they declined to comment. But as per sources, sand deposits along the Punatsangchhu have been low this time due to less rainfall this summer.
There are three sand extraction sites under the NRDCL’s Sha Branch office but the one located at Tshokorna in Punakha is also in the same state. Moreover, the Tshokorna site remained temporarily closed adding to the sand shortage. It was opened just a few days ago.
And the third one is located in Dagana but not many truckers go there because of the distance.
Almost 32,000 truckloads of sand were supplied by the Sha Branch last year. It has supplied about 21,500 truckloads so far this year.
How the shortage is affecting the construction sector in Thimphu
Construction owners in the capital are hit hard by this shortage. In order to keep the work going, they are now paying double of what they usually pay on the supposedly black market. They alleged that private sand suppliers are taking advantage of the situation.
People who are currently constructing houses in Thimphu say the delayed delivery of sand from NRDCL has forced them to buy sand at an increased rate from private sand suppliers. They claimed that the sand shortage has given birth to a black market for sand.
“It’s been three weeks since I applied for sand supply but I have yet to receive it. I have completed the concrete works yesterday. I need some more and I think I have to buy sand on the black market. NRDCL has not delivered sand till now and I cannot halt my work. That’s why I am buying from the black market,” said Nidup Dorji, a Contractor in Thimphu.
While buying directly from the NRDCL, it costs only Nu 16,500 a truckload. However, Nidup says it costs Nu 32,000 for a truckload on the black market. He has bought nine truckloads of sand from such suppliers to date. He says if they get sand from the NRDCL whenever they need it, then there would be no need to buy from the black market.
Another house owner who is constructing a house in Jungshina said that the delay in the supply of sand from NRDCL has impacted his construction progress. He also claims to have bought sand from the black market paying up to Nu 10,000 extra a truckload.
“We don’t have any option other than to buy from the black market. We have to buy sand brought from Phuentsholing. Sand from Wangdue and Punakha is also sold at similar rates. And we have to pay them extra. The drivers don’t show us the invoice to verify. They might have brought in some other’s name and are selling to us. What we need is the sand and we have no option,” said Tenzin Chorab, a House Owner in Thimphu.
Refuting these allegations, private suppliers say the current price of sand in the market is higher because they bring in the sand from Phuentshogling.
“It’s not true that the sand from Wangdue is sold at an escalated price. Sand is brought from Phuentsholing depot, which costs Nu 2,500. Since we bring up to 18 to 19 MT in a trip we charge Nu 26,000 as the cost has increased,” a supplier who preferred to stay anonymous said.
Another supplier also confirmed what he said. He says the sand current in the market in Thimphu is all from Phuentshogling.
However, according to the NRDCL, there could be a few incidences of people taking advantage of the shortage. The office says officials from the Department of Forests also apprehended such black marketers in the past.
“We doubt few house owners who have completed their constructions are still buying sand from NRDCL and selling to others at a higher price illegally,” said Sonam Chhophel, the General Manager at NRDCL in Thimphu.
However, the NRDCL says they are monitoring the supply of sand on the black market. The head office says their regional offices were alerted about it.
“They say that there is no way they are allowing the sand to be sold on the black market. Staff from the Department of Forest and we work together on the paper works,” added the GM.
The office says it is trying to provide timely delivery of sand to people who are in need of it. However, because of the huge volume of demand for sand every day, the office says the shortage is expected.
Changa Dorji (Wangdue)/Krishna Ghalley (Thimphu)
Edited by Yeshi Gyaltshen
