Thousands of residents in Samtse’s Denchukha Gewog have been cut off from the rest of the district after flash floods swept away the 400-foot Namgyal Deykyidzam Bailey suspension bridge yesterday. The disaster has left the community completely isolated, with no power, mobile network, or road connectivity.
Built in 2017, the 400-foot bridge has been Denchukha’s only lifeline to other gewogs and the district. Its collapse after the weekend’s heavy rainfall has left the gewog among the hardest hit in the southern foothills.
Home to nearly 4,000 people, Denchukha remains cut off from the district and has been without electricity and mobile network since Saturday.
The disaster has left around 30 students and teachers stranded in the gewog. They had returned home to celebrate the Dassai festival, but are now unable to travel back to their respective schools. Similarly, many Denchukha residents working in other gewogs have been stranded and are unable to return home.
Adding to the concern, Denchukha has a considerable number of poultry and piggery farms. With the main route cut off, the supply of animal feed is running out, leaving farmers anxious about their livestock.
Responding to the crisis, the Dorokha Drungkhag administration and members of parliament along with district officials, has been on the ground monitoring the situation since yesterday.
A formal request has been submitted to the Ministry of Home Affairs for helicopter support to transport stranded individuals, deliver essential supplies, and airlift feed for livestock farmers.
Authorities are also exploring short-term measures, including the possibility of conducting school trial exams for stranded students where they are, constructing a temporary bridge, and even resorting to traditional ropeway methods used before the bridge was built.
Meanwhile, efforts are ongoing to restore electricity and mobile networks to the gewog.
Passang Dorji, Samtse
Edited by Sonam Pem
