Poor weather and heavy rainfall have been causing havoc in the southern districts, leading to several roadblocks and swollen streams. In Sarpang, the Shetikhari stream in Gelephu swelled up, breaking its bank and entered a nearby village late last night. Residents recollect a similar incident which happened in 2016.
The villagers of Pelrithang Khamaed spent a sleepless night yesterday.
The water entered four houses at around 11 PM. A few residents said some of their belongings were damaged by the water.
The village, located along the Gelephu-Trongsa highway, has 22 households.
“We called the Gup and he came here. But we could not find any excavator. We went till the Gewog office looking for an excavator but could not find one. We stayed in our neighbour’s house and our belongings were packed by the Desuups and kept on the bed,” said Tula Ram Adikhari, a resident.
The Gelephu Gup said three excavators were deployed to divert the stream to its original course. Meanwhile, the villagers have been told to stay alert incase the situation worsens.
Due to heavy rainfall, a portion of the wall of a bridge near Pelrithang Khamaed village was also damaged.
Besides causing minor roadblocks along farm roads, the roadblock at Boxcut along the Gelephu-Trongsa highway could not be cleared today due to continuous rainfall.
Several roadblocks were also reported in other districts, but most of them have been cleared.
However, the Tingtibi-Panbang highway has been closed to traffic due to two major roadblocks along the highway. The road base at Praling was washed away and a culvert or a waterway was washed away at Pantang.
According to the Regional Office of the Department of Surface Transport in Tingtibi, they initiated clearance works after deploying heavy machinery. However, continuous rainfall and falling boulders are hampering the restoration works.
The National Centre for Hydrology and Meteorology has predicted very heavy rainfall in the southern parts of the country for two days from today. The centre is urging the people in the south to be on high alert as there could be riverine floods, flash floods and landslides due to the poor weather.
Karma Wangdi, Sarpang
Edited by Tshering Zam
