People of Khaling Gewog in Trashigang said during every public meeting, they have voiced for the establishment of a fuel station in the gewog.
However, they said local authorities have not considered their plea yet. At present, in absence of a fuel station in the gewog, residents have to travel some 64 kilometres to Wamrong to refuel cars and exchange LPG cooking gas.
Wamrong is the closest neighbor of Khaling than any other places in Trashigang. However, traveling to Wamrong incurs extra expenditure for the villagers and public servants. Apart from passenger fares, taxis charge additional amount of around Nu 100 to 150 for a LPG cylinder.
“For teaching staff, it is difficult to travel to Wamrong. Unlike other civil servants, we hardly travel far, we just drive within the locality and runs out of fuel. To refuel, we have to wait for weekends and sometimes, on weekends too, we are busy,” said a Teacher of Khaling Central School, Sangay Wangdi.
Locals said they store fuel in containers for use during emergencies despite knowing such practice is dangerous.
“We have no choice but to store the fuel products and keep in the shop. If in case, it triggers fire, it will be a huge problem,” said a shopkeeper in Khaling, Kinzang Dorji. Every year, more number of vehicles hit the roads in Khaling Gewog.
The Gup of Khaling Gewog, Tashi Dorji said the issue was discussed during the recent Dzongkhag Tshogdu. However he added the problem will be solved only after Khaling is being identified as the Dzongkhag Yenlag Thromde. For Dzongkhag Yenlag Thromde, basic urban amenities will be developed whereby a fuel house will be included.
