In Sarpang, none of the parties contesting in the 4th National Assembly Elections has made the much-hyped and popular Mao River bridge construction pledge to the electorates this time. This comes as a surprise to the people there who have been promised the bridge in all three past elections without delivering.
During winters, the people of the Chhuzergang Gewog under the Gelephu constituency construct a temporary bridge over the Mao River without a permanent bridge.
People of Chhuzergang, Umling, Tareythang and Serzhong Gewogs need to cross the river to reach Gelephu. During the rainy season, they travel via the Gelephu-Trongsa Highway.
This time during the common forums in Gelephu Constituency, the residents said the parties are not pledging the construction of the Mao Bridge.
“None of the political parties pledged about the construction of the bridge over Mao River this time. I am not sure why it is not there. But maybe it is because they were not able to fulfil the pledges in the past. The distance is shorter when we take the route over Mao River which incurs lesser expenditure,” said Kinga Wangmo, a resident from Chhuzergang Gewog.
“The pledge was there during all first three elections. But this time, during the fourth NA elections, they are not talking about it,” said Rinchen Duba, a resident from Serzhong Gewog.
“They are now talking about connecting the east and the west via Gelephu but I did not hear them pledging about the Mao Bridge this time,” said Wangdi, another resident from Chhuzergang Gewog.
From conducting feasibility studies to identifying possible sites to allocating budget, the past governments tried to construct the bridge but could not deliver their promises.
Sarpang has two constituencies with more than 34,900 registered voters. With no party pledging to build the bridge in this election, it seems like it will be a lifetime before they see a permanent bridge built over the river.
Karma Wangdi, Sarpang
Edited by Tshering Zam
