The national highway that runs from Chhudzom in Thimphu to Phuentshogling is much cleaner now. And one can now have a pleasurable drive along the clean motorway.
The credit for this goes to over 1,000 students, civil servants, DeSuungs, monks, and local communities of Chhukha Dzongkhag who thoroughly cleaned the road on Saturday.
The issue regarding the waste along the Thimphu-Phuentshogling highway was discussed during the Dzongkhag Tshogdu in March this year.
The Chhukha Dzongdag, Pemba Wangchuk said, “We see lots of wastes along the Thimphu Phuentshogling highway. Regional tourists arranging picnics around the area and throwing wastes all over the place is another issue. Add to this, people from other places pack their wastes and secretly dump them along the highway”.
The dzongkhag organised the cleaning campaign as a measure to tackle the waste issue along the highway. Besides cleaning the areas, signboards were erected to sensitise commuters and motorists to discourage dumping wastes along the highway. Pamphlets were also distributed for the same purpose.
“I am happy for being able to take part in the cleaning campaign. People feel that we have to be a government employee to serve the nation. But for me, doing little things like cleaning the area is a service to the nation,” said one of the students, Chimi Nidup.
The World Wildlife Fund Bhutan and Bhutan Trust Fund for Environmental Conservation funded the event.