The people of Drubchhugang Chiwog in Tsirang’s Tsholingkhar Gewog are frustrated and shocked by the delay in the blacktopping of their farm road. They say that during public consultations conducted by the Tsholingkhar Gewog Administration, residents agreed to prioritise the blacktopping of the chiwog’s farm road in the first phase of the 13th Five-Year Plan. However, the government has now prioritised the Kapazhing Chiwog farm road, which was originally scheduled for the second phase. Drubchhugang residents are now seeking clarifications from the concerned authorities about the deferral of their road blacktopping work.
After hearing the news, the road beneficiaries from Drubchhugang Chiwog appealed to the gewog on 8th November, seeking clarification on the matter.
The appeal letter stated that the chiwog road was built long before the Kapazhing Chiwog farm road and should therefore be given blacktopping priority.
The road beneficiaries said that the decision undermines the will of the public and the gewog, discouraging public participation in developmental activities.
“At the last moment the plan has been changed and diverted to Kapazhing Chiwog. We do not know how the plan got changed suddenly. This sudden change in plan did not go well with us,” said L.B Tamang.
“This is our 20th year after we resettled here and we were initially happy when we heard that our chiwog farm road getting blacktopped in the current financial year. I do not think it is not the decision of the gewog administration but the central government could have intervened,” said Lhamo, a resident of Drubchhugang Chiwog.
“We attended four meetings and in all meetings, we discussed and decided to prioritise the Drubchhugang Chiwog road to be blacktopped first. As agreed by the public, the gewog and the district administration finally endorsed the budget. We are seeking clarification from relevant agencies since the decision has affected end-users like us,” said T. Namgay, another resident.
“The gewog administration prioritised the blacktopping of Drubchhugang Chiwog farm road in the first phase and the Kapazhing Chiwog farm road in the second phase. When it comes to electing our representative, every one of us played equal roles by casting votes. But we do not know how it happened when it comes to bringing developmental activities,” said Karma Gelay, also a resident.
“Our chiwog has more households and population compared to Kapazhing Chiwog. We also have more farmers growing vegetables and raising poultry. The chiwog has one of the highest dairy farmers taking milk to a milk booth in Damphu town,” said Ram Kumar Ghishing, a resident.
Meanwhile, the Kilkhorthang-Mendrelgang’s Member of Parliament, Kamal Bahadur Gurung, said that the Cabinet and the Office of Cabinet Affairs and Strategic Coordination under the Prime Minister’s Office approved the shift in prioritisation.
The MP added that he supported the prioritisation of the Kapazhing Chiwog farm road, as it was his and the current government’s pledge during the election.
However, the MP assured that the Drubchhugang road blacktopping will take place in the next phase.
Today, the nine-kilometre Drubchhugang farm road, constructed in 2009, serves around 125 households.
In contrast, the six-kilometre Kapazhing farm road, built in 2014, benefits around 40 households, including a few households from the Drubchhugang Chiwog.
Pema Tshewang, Tsirang
Edited by Sherub Dorji
