Farm roads have played a vital role in rural development. In Pema Gatshel’s Dechhenling Gewog, the completion of blacktopping a farm road two months ahead of schedule has made the residents happy. The farm road, the first to be blacktopped in the district, has been serving the community for nearly a decade without any maintenance.
The four-kilometre farm road connects Peling village, a school, and a primary health centre to the gewog centre.
Thanks to the blacktopping work, patients can get to the health centre faster and students can enjoy a clean environment throughout the year.
The blacktopping work cost over Nu 22 M.
“We have been living in this remote area for a long time. It’s wonderful to see it clean and beautiful now. We’re really happy. We hope the government will repair it if it gets damaged in the future,” said Yeshi Wangmo, a resident.
“The classrooms are dust-free now, even the students can play outside. Now it is easier to conduct physical activities outside for the students because of how clean it is,” said Pema Samba, a teacher of Dechhenling LSS.
“Now there’s much less dust and we hope we’re not eating dust with our meals anymore,” said Sonam Yangden, a resident.
The residents said when the road wasn’t blacktopped, they had a difficult time.
“When it rains, we have to walk through muddy roads and when it’s sunny, we deal with dusty roads. Vehicles driving near my house used to slip, causing a lot of trouble,” added Sonam Yangdon.
“It was very inconvenient to drive on this road before it was paved. Most of the time, stones and potholes would hit the bottom of the vehicles,” added Pema Samba.
“I used to find it difficult to stay at home due to the dust. And walking to the primary health centre was challenging due to the muddy roads,” added Yeshi Wangmo.
Likewise, the blacktopping of farm roads in the remaining two gewogs of Norbugang and Chhoekhorling is currently in progress. More than Nu 90 M has been allocated for the blacktopping works.
Thinley Dorji, Pema Gatshel
Edited by Sonam Pem
