Works are underway to lay foundations for a new Bumthang town through the Bumthang Urban Infrastructure Development plan.
The project to develop a new town is slowly taking shape after more than a decade of planning works. As per the new Bumthang town planning, Chamkhar, Dekiling and Jalikhar have been identified as the three Local Area Plans (LAP).
The current project includes building three urban roads and a bridge. Some of the works have already been completed.
“Since there are lots of local festivals in Bumthang, there are many incidences of traffic jams here. So roads will be helpful during heavy traffic,” said Pema Letho, the Municipal Engineer of Bumthang. “One of the roads is to connect Dekiling and Chamkhar townships through a bypass. The Jakar Lhakhang bypass is the main access road for new Chamkhar town planning which includes the existing Chamkhar town and a village located above it.”
While the two roads have already been built, the third one heading towards Bathpalathang from Chamkhar town is nearing completion. A new bridge over Chamkhar Chu connecting villages towards the northern end of the town is also under construction.
All the construction works under the current project are carried out with financial assistance of Nu 179m from the Government of India. The project will now focus on construction of water supply facilities, internal roads and sewerage systems in the next Five-Year-Plan (12th Five-Year-Plan).
