The terrible road condition in some parts of Trongsa and Bumthang has made driving not only a pain but also risky.
It has led to the temporary suspension of bus service to the east by a few public transport operators. Other bus operators are looking to follow suit but the Road Safety and Transport Authority (RSTA) says they can’t.
Buses and other vehicles take longer time than usual to reach their destination. It’s worse when it rains.
There is a road stretch between Tshangkha and Trongsa that is particularly dangerous. Narrow, muddy and slippery, vehicles- small, mediumand heavy, can be seen stuck in the mud along this stretch.
“The road is so bad that we often have to make the passengers get off to push the bus out of the mud,” said Kishor Bdr Tamang, a bus driver.
Accidents have also been reported at the site. Two trucks collided on Sunday and a DCM truck toppled recently while trying to negotiate the muddy road.
A bus operator, Jigme Dorji, says they are risking their lives every day. “The authorities are not aware of the ground reality and that’s why they wouldn’t let us discontinue our service,” he said.
Another bus operator, Gyem Tshering said they would be happy if they are allowed to discontinue their service until the road condition improves. “We reach our destination very late because of the bad road,” he said.
“We also have to spend a lot on maintenance as the bad road is causing damage to our buses,” said Sangay Wangchuk, who is also a bus operator.
Two public transport buses were damaged recently and are still lying by the roadside.
The officials from the Department of Roads and the contractors executing the road widening works said continuous rainfall and heavy traffic is making it difficult for them to maintain the road condition.
