The delay in the farm road construction in Samkhar village of Trashigang has been inconveniencing the people there. The construction which began in August this year was supposed to complete last month. However, the construction works were halted due to difficult terrain at the work site.
The 8-kilometre farm road connects Samkhar village with the Samkhar Gewog centre. While the 3-kilometre stretch was completed last year, the remaining 5-kilometre got delayed due to the difficult terrain.
With the construction of the farm road extended, people have either been driving 44 kilometres to and from Trashigang or walking for about three hours to reach the Samkhar Gewog centre.
“We have to enrol our children in Bikhar School starting from class PP. And we have to travel through Trashigang paying double the fare. The farm road that we have is all covered with bushes and cannot be used. It has been difficult and inconvenient,” said Sherub Dema, a resident of the village.
“Without a farm road, it has been a problem for us here. During summer, the stream gets swollen and we have to travel from Trashigang, which is expensive. And it’s more difficult when we have to take our children to school. All these problems will be solved once we have the farm road connection. I have been walking to the gewog office because the transportation charge is expensive otherwise,” said Yeshi Dorji, another resident.
However, as per the Samkhar Gup, the village will be connected with a farm road within the next two months.
“We started the work but we encountered a huge cliff during the farm road construction. To clear the cliff, we need explosive material and there was a delay in procuring the explosive materials. However, the explosive materials have reached here and we are ready to start the work. Hopefully, we will be able to connect the farm road within the next two months,” said Samkhar Gup, Jamyang.
About Nu 1.9 M has been allocated for the construction of the 8-kilometre farm road.
Once complete, the farm road will benefit nearly 50 households in Samkhar Gewog and shorten the distance by nearly 20 kilometres to Samkhar Gewog.
Sonam Darjay, Trashigang
Edited by Sonam Pem
