Over a year has passed since residents of Martang village in Dewathang Gewog in Samdrup Jongkhar have been living in temporary shelters. According to the villagers, the village is located on a sloppy area and the heavy rainfall caused damage to their houses last year. The Gewog Administration has been working on relocating them to a nearby area.
Martang village in Dewathang Gewog is home to 28 families.
Although the houses were constructed years and even decades ago, cracks emerged in the walls and concrete pavement surrounding the houses last year.
The villagers said that the houses developed cracks as the land started to sink following heavy rainfall last year.
Since June last year, 11 villagers have been living in these temporary shelters. They said it is difficult to maintain cleanliness.
And their hopes are pinned on relocation to a nearby area known as Namshiwong.
“We must shift as soon as possible. There is no way we can fix the land here. We cannot stay in peace here, we always fear landslide might bury us,” said Tshewang, a villager.
“It becomes muddy when it rains and when the sun is out, it becomes unbearable in our house. We want to move this year. We are worried about how we will stay here if we are not relocated this year. We cannot go anywhere and have no place to grow vegetables either,” said Thinley Pelzom, another villager.
“I would like to be relocated. We cannot do any work here, so would be glad if we are relocated sooner,” said Kezang Yuden who is also a villager.
The Dewathang Gewog Administration says they are working on the relocation as Martang is not suitable for settlement.
According to Dewathang Gewog Administration, they received the forest clearance for Namshiwong area and for now, the Gewog is working on carrying out survey of the land.
The Gewog has also allocated Nu 5.5 M for land survey and road construction.
Although works are underway to relocate the village, it is not known when they will move to the new area.
Kinley Wangchuk, Samdrup Jongkhar
Edited by Tshering Zam
