A plumber has been accused by the people of Udzorong Gewog in Trashigang of stealing and selling the gewog’s water pipes to an automobile workshop in Trashigang. People are also alleging the gewog and the Dzongkhag Administration for failing to take action even after they reported the case.
The water pipes, erected to construct a garage in one of the workshops in Trashigang, supposedly belonged to Udzorong Gewog. The water pipes, people allege, were stolen and sold to the automobile workshop by the Gewog’s plumber. The plumber, however, denies the allegation but agreed that he gave 20 damaged water pipes to the auto-workshop to be replaced with new ones. The workshop owner also said the pipes were taken from the plumber to be replaced.
An eyewitness, Wangdi, said the water pipes were taken during the day. He was told the water pipes wil be replaced with the new ones as the old ones were damaged.
The plumber however had no permission from the Gewog Administration to give away the water pipes. Following the allegation, the plumber brought in new water pipes as a replacement. But the gewog did not accept the new water pipes since investigations are still underway.
Meanwhile, the people are also accusing the Gewog Administration for failing to take action. The incident happened on January 13 and the matter was immediately reported to the Gewog Administration. But the Gewog Administration says the issue has already been reported to the Dzongkhag Administration.
The Udzorong Gup, Tenzin Tshewang, said they received information from some people in the gewog. “We immediately informed the Dzongkhag and the Dzongkhag has asked us to solve the problem from the gewog. So we are still trying to solve the problem.”
The water pipes were dismantled, after the Trashigang-Samdrup Jongkhar road widening works disrupted the water supply. The Gewog Administration is not aware of the total number of dismantled water pipes but according to the Dzongkhag Engineering Sector, 250 steel pipes were dismantled. According to the District Engineer, a water pipe measuring six meters long, costs more than Nu.3000 in the current market.
After dismantling, the water pipes were piled up in three locations along the highway. When BBS went to verify the water pipes, there were less than 150 water pipes. Around 100 water pipes are missing. The ongoing road widening works severely disrupted the gewog’s water supply. With many water pipes now missing, people are worried of further delay in restoring their water supply. Both the Dzongkhag and the Gewog Administration confirmed that there is no separate budget to restore the gewog’s water supply. Meanwhile an investigation team, led by the District Engineer, will soon travel to the geog to investigate the case.
