The narrow and damaged 11-kilometre farm road that connects Drepong Gewog’s Zunglen Chiwog to Monggar town is undergoing major maintenance. The much-anticipated upgrade includes blacktopping, which is expected to begin once the rainy season ends. Residents are hopeful that the improved road will ease the transport of farm produce, helping boost their local economy.
Zunglen Chiwog in Drepong Gewog is located approximately 20 kilometres from Monggar town. At this time of year, the area is lush, full of vegetables, crops, and orchards.
The farm road winds its way through the hills. It is narrow, steep and damaged.
First built over a decade ago, the road was laid with granular sub-base in 2023. Without proper drainage and steep terrain, rainwater washed away much of the surface.
Today, many stretches remain damaged.
Currently, the retention wall and drain constructions are underway. The gewog administration said blacktopping will begin after the monsoon this year.
Drepong Gup Sonam Phuntsho said, “The main issue was at Phijur-Laptsa, which is about 2 and a half kilometres from the gewog office. That stretch is a rocky cliff, which makes travel risky. Now that we have the budget, blacktopping will start. We hope it will benefit people immensely.
Although the road maintenance will be complete by October next year, the people are hopeful it will boost farming and market access.
“Right now, not many vehicles come here because of the road. Once blacktopped, more will travel, and we can take our goods to town quickly. This will help our income,” said Jigme, a resident of Zunglen Chiwog.
Dawa, another resident said,“Transport charges are high. We pay over Nu 500 to Monggar and Nu 600 to Gyalpozhing. A better road will cut travel time by half and reduce costs. We can then earn more.”
“People in Laptsa will benefit the most. They can now take vegetables and fruits to Monggar. Earlier, we used the longer road to Gyalpozhing,” said Tashi Dorji, a resident of Zunglen Chiwog.
“I visit Monggar 3-4 times a week. Sometimes I take sick people to the hospital, and sometimes people have work at the Dzongkhag administration office. The Phijur-Laptsa road is two hours shorter than the Gyalpozhing route,” said Phuntsho, also a resident of Zunglen Chiwog.
The project has a budget of Nu 30.7 M under the Small Development Project, funded by the Government of India.
With a proper road and growing interest in farming, only time will tell how prosperous Zunglen and nearby communities will become.
Namgay Wangchuk, Monggar
Edited by Sangay Chezom
