Instances of road blocks are quite common in Dorokha, Samtse. However, there has never been a case where people got stranded. Up until recently, the Department of Roads (DoR) has been able to keep Dorokha-Samtse route open to traffic.
A back-hoe and other necessary equipment are deployed along the Gewog Centre (GC) road in case, blockage happens.
“Now, we need not wait for weeks for the blocks to get cleared. The DoR clears it. Until now, we did not encounter any problem due to road blocks and our construction works are also on track,” said a commuter named Laxman Rai.
Other also underlined similar views.
“Every time it rains, there is a road block. But thankfully, the Roads Department clears it immediately and until now, we never encountered problems due to road blocks,” said another commuter, Ranjit Rai.
Motorists also concur with the commuters’ opinion.
“There have been several road blocks but none of the people here got into a problem until now. Thanks to the effort put in by the DoR and the Dungkhag Administration,” said a driver, Dharam Singh Ghallay. “At the maximum, we have to wait for two hours in case there are major blocks.”
According to the road officials, since equipment is stationed at the site, the blockage is cleared at the soonest.
“We have all the necessary equipments ready at the site because its summer and we don’t know when there will be road blocks,” said Damber Singh Rai, Site Supervisor, Department of Roads, Dorokha. “People have also started taking initiatives and call us whenever there are blocks. As soon as we receive the information, we rush to the site to clear the block.”
In the past, communters were often stranded for weeks due to blocks along the Dorokha-Samtse highway. For some locals, then, it was time to make money as porters. The 54-Kilometre GC road connects three gewogs of Dorokha Dungkha to the rest of the dzongkhag.
