By March next year, the entire road network in Bumthang town will have blacktopped double-lane motorways. Thanks to the forthcoming youths, laid-off hotel staff and employees of the tourism industry who joined the road construction project, the works are right on track. A bright story amidst the long-standing idea of youth apathy towards blue-collar jobs.
34-year-old Purna Bdr Rai and his friends who are all employees of Hotel Amankora in Bumthang are trying their hands on this new day job with little or no experience at all. They were mostly on unpaid leave like most of the staff in the hospitality sector across the country but they are willing to get their hands dirty to make a living on their own now.
“With no tourists in the country now, we have become more or less jobless. His Majesty The King’s Relief Kidu is helping us buy rations for our family. However, we now have to pay full house rent starting this month though we were given a 30 per cent discount in the last three months. That’s why we formed a team and joined the roadside construction work,” said Purna Bdr Rai, a driver with AmanKora in Bumthang.
It’s been about two weeks since they joined the work and now they are getting a hang of it.
“It takes about a week to get used to this sort of work but we are okay about it now. I think anyone can do it even as a full-time job. We can see lots of job opportunities in the construction sector. All those are doable and there is no need to be embarrassed if they help us put food on the table,” he added.
Like him, there are more than 80 other youths who are mostly school dropouts and tourism sector employees who have lost their jobs due to the pandemic.
“There are works that we can do in the construction sites based on our capacity. We don’t feel ashamed working here, we feel proud of ourselves instead. We are making a living out of it and I feel that’s what serving His Majesty and the government is all about,” said Sherub Dorji, a construction worker from Monggar.
“After graduating from Jigme Namgyel Engineering College, I didn’t really seek jobs in government agencies but then I got an opportunity to work in CDCL. In recent weeks, we have seen Indian labourers leaving the country but that opens a big opportunity for the youths out here. It’s better to serve the country in such times and feel proud of what we are doing,” said Tshering Namgay, a site supervisor with the Construction Development Corporation.
Some of them say if youths are paid a decent wage, a lot of them are willing to join the construction workforce. In Bumthang, the Construction Development Corporation pays them daily wages ranging from Nu 600 to 1000 which they are happy about.
“Although it is very far from Thimphu, the main reason that I came to Bumthang is that the daily wage here is more than sufficient for us and we will be able to even meet the expenses of our families in Thimphu. If the government and the employers could pay labourers like us a decent wage, I feel like the youth would definitely be motivated,” said Chimi Dorji, an unemployed travel agent from Thimphu.
CDCL’s road-widening project in Bumthang still requires more than 30 workers at its numerous sites. For now, the ones that have joined the company are working hard, building not just roads but their lives as well.
Kipchu
