People in Gangzur Gewog of Lhuentse are asking for a motorable bridge over a stream between the villages of Lekpa and Lingabi. The gewog centre road passes through the stream and without a bridge, the water runs over the road today. They said there is a risk to the lives of school-going children and also damages vehicles passing through it.
The road remains inaccessible whenever the water level increases in the summer. The same stream claimed the lives of a woman and her daughter in July 2019 following a tragic flash flood. The issue was also discussed in the recent Dzongkhag Tshogdu to prevent similar tragedies from happening again.
“If there is a motorable bridge, our cars won’t get damaged. And there is also the risk of small children losing their lives in the swollen stream,” said Pema Jamtsho, a teacher of Dungkar Primary School under Kurtoed Gewog in Lhunetse.
Today, people there have constructed a temporary wooden bridge for the safety of their children.
“Recently we cleared the bushes along the gewog centre road. We haven’t received rain in the village but due to heavy rain on the mountain, the water level increased suddenly making it difficult even for adults to cross the stream. So the villagers constructed a wooden bridge,” said Phuntsho Rabten, from Gangzur Gewog.
Local leaders raised the issue at the Dzongkhag Tshogdu recently. The Gangzur Gup, Kunzang Dorji, said a bridge will benefit the people of Kurtoed and Gangzur. He said whenever there is heavy rainfall, students of Thimyul Lower Secondary School return home since they cannot cross the stream.
The House decided to submit the proposal to the department of roads.
The Chief Engineer from the Regional Office of the Department of Roads in Lingmethang, Kinzang Dorji, said a concrete bridge will be built over the stream.
“We have already discussed and agreed to construct a ten-meter long concrete bridge over the Lingabi stream as we cannot launch a Bailey bridge due to unstable soil conditions. So we will soon execute the construction of the concrete bridge. However, if the house can pass a resolution on this matter, it would help us in executing the work,” he said.
The residents hope for the construction of the bridge to complete before the next monsoon.
Sonam Tshering, Lhuentse
Edited by Sonam
