Farmers of Kanakha village in Dagana’s Kana Gewog now have access to adequate irrigation water, thanks to a newly constructed 4.8-kilometre irrigation channel. This has allowed farmers to grow vegetables and other cash crops on a large scale. While the village has favourable conditions for growing all kinds of vegetables and fruits, the lack of a proper farm road hinders their efforts. Farmers are now hoping for an improved farm road to fully benefit from the Nu 18 M irrigation channel.
The road from the Nindukha tri-junction to Kanakha is passable for all vehicles for about one-kilometre. However, beyond that, it becomes very risky, especially for light vehicles.
Huge potholes and stones in several stretches along the road make the ride bumpy. The lack of proper drainage has worsened the road condition, causing it to become muddy and nearly inaccessible.
Residents say the farm road has not had major maintenance since its construction over a decade ago. They say the road condition worsens, especially during monsoon. They are now urgently requesting road improvements.
“The farm road is in a very poor condition. At the very least, laying a granular-sub-base would improve the road condition. We grow a variety of vegetables and but they often rot in the absence of good road condition. Vegetable vendors don’t come to our village to collect vegetables due to poor road condition and we don’t have our own vehicles to transport the produce,” said Mani Prasad Powdel, a resident.
“All kinds of fruits grow well here. Now the only problem is poor condition of the farm road. Vegetables grow well during summer but the road condition gets worse during this season,” said Dotay, another resident.
“We grow vegetables but it is very challenging to supply to the markets due to the poor condition of the farm road. We have scheduled a meeting among ourselves to discuss improvements to the road and hope to increase our vegetable sales this year,” said Damber Bdr. Chhetri, who is also a resident.
There is some good news on the horizon. The Lhaling Tshogpa said that plans are underway to improve the seven-kilometre stretch of the Kanakha and Nindukha farm road.
These improvement works will be prioritised in the current Five Year Plan due to the deteriorating road conditions.
Pema Tshewang, Dagana
Edited by Sonam Pem
