A farm road has become a necessity for the farmers of two chiwogs in Pema Gatshel. In the absence of one, the people of Gazawung village in Chhoekhorling chiwog have left nearly 50 acres of land fallow.
Kerong and Gazawung chiwogs are connected by a road but the distance is long. It takes more than three hours for the people of Gazawung to reach Kerong. And while most of the people of Gazawung chiwog have land in Kerong, it has remained fallow for over a decade.
“As we are simple farmers, we feel we are paying a huge amount to hire the vehicle. If we get a farm road direct to Gazawong from here, we would be grateful and it will solve our problems,” said Dorji, a resident of Kerong.
“We have very good land there. We can cultivate paddy and varieties of vegetables. We have already informed the gewog to connect Kerong and Gazawoong with a farm road,” said Khordey Choezang, a resident of Gawawung.
“We must travel from Drezamo and Shuguri which is a very long way for us. And if we take another route from Lungkhangma, then it is dangerous as there are chances of encountering wild animals. That’s why it has been inconvenient,” said Karma Wangchuk, Kerong Tshogpa.
The Gewog Gup says plans to construct a farm road could not materialise in the current plan due to budget constraints.
“We have received a request from the people for the need of a farm road. We are planning to include in the next 13th Five Year Plan and accordingly allocate the budget for farm road construction,” said Kinzang Rabten, Chhoekhorling Gup.
The people are planning to revive their fallow land if the proposed farm road construction materialises.
“With no farm road connectivity, we lose interest in farming. We have an orange orchard there but it was destroyed by wild animals. If a farm road is constructed, we will revive those orchards and cultivate more,” said Khordey Choezang, a resident of Gazawung.
The proposed farm road will be 10 to 15 kilometres from Gazawung to Kerong, thereby shortening the distance. If constructed, it will benefit nearly 200 households in two villages under Chhoekhorling Gewog.
Thinley Dorji, Pema Gatshel
Edited by Sonam Pem
