It is a rush against time for the contractors resurfacing the Samtse-Tendruk highway. Monsoon is just a few months away. The second nationwide lockdown, coupled with the shortage of skilled labourers, has added pressure to meet the deadlines.
The resurfacing works are being carried out in three packages. The first 2.3-kilometre package from Samtse till Dhamdum River will likely miss the June deadline.
“We have lost a month’s work progress to the lockdown. So, it will be postponed. We can’t show progress. We are planning to put more labourers and speed up the work before the monsoon arrives. But if we cannot, we will have to wait for the monsoon to pass and return to work,” said Norzang Dhendup, the Site Engineer for the UND Construction Pvt. Ltd.
Blacktopping works are not permitted for three summer months in the southern belt. The site engineer said they hired more labourers to make up for the skilled labour shortage.
“When we construct the U-shaped drain, skilled labourers will achieve a greater daily result. Where 60 meters of the drain can be constructed with skilled labourers, Bhutanese labourers can only manage 40. But they are getting experienced with it, and the work outcome is getting better. Bhutanese labourers can do it,” he added.
However, it is good news on the second work package from Ugyentse Gewog till Gola town in Tashichhoeling Gewog. Blacktopping work is in full swing. Barring any mishaps, the construction company, SKD Construction Pvt. Ltd., hopes to complete the work in the next 25 days.
Work on the third package from Tashichhoeling till Tendruk is progressing slowly. With maize sowing season approaching in the eastern districts, the company executing the works on this package risks losing its labourers from the east.
“It is not that Bhutanese do not know how to do these works. But this is the farming season, and some say they have to sow maize. And we cannot force them to forgo sowing maize since they have to last a year from this harvest,” said Sonam Dorji, the Site Supervisor for SL Construction Pvt. Ltd.
For now, the labourers have decided to stay put. The supervisor said if drain construction on the 24-kilometre stretch completes as planned by mid-April, blacktopping would be done in under two-month time after that, provided heavy rains don’t hamper work.
Sherub Dorji, Samtse
