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Dagana town, the most urbanised area in the Dzongkhag is faced with one too many problems. Even after 30 years in existence, there hasn’t been much change, except for the increase in population. The old dilapidated and crestfallen huts still characterise the Dagana Town.
When people think of Dagana town, the run down old huts is what comes to your mind first. They say the ramshackle huts are old, dirty and unpleasant to look at.
But they have a history to tell.
It has been there for more than three decades. And no one knows, for sure, how long it will remain there.
Our reporter, Pema Namgay, says countless poles have been erected to support it from falling down. Fresh poles are put up every year, since they are not allowed to renovate their huts. The huts are used for both residential and business purposes and they for the core town area. Developmental activities in the town are taking place slowly, ‘much slower than a tortoise’, according to a shopkeeper in the town.
Apart from visitors, the town residents themselves despise their own huts. But, they have nowhere to go. In the past, they had no proper town but when they finally got it, they could not construct houses due to numerous problems. And they missed the deadline to shift to a new town last November.
The town is plagued with numerous problems. Technically, the town does not even qualify to be one. It lacks almost all the basic facilities that a town should have. Waste management is a major problem. There are no proper waste bins or waste disposal sites. No one bothers to collect wastes. And those collected are burned out in the open.
Dagana town is also known for frequent power blackouts. The residents say, the town is out of power whenever people most need it. The problem has been going on for quite sometime now.
There is not even a fuel depot or a mechanical workshop. The nearest and the only fuel depot is around 50 kilometres away from the town. Travelers mostly depend on the public buses to travel since there are no taxis operating from within the town.
Even for a hair-cut, residents say, they have to look for friends with barber’s skills. Dagana town could be the only town without a barber or a cobbler shop.
If there is a fire outbreak, like the one in Bumthang, the whole Dagana town could be wiped out. The huts are vulnerable to fire. And I don’t remember seeing fire fighting engine in the town. To make the situation worse, the town does not have a reliable water supply.
The residents do not have a Thromdey Thuemi to look after their developments.
Despite problems, the number of shops in the town is increasing every year. The shopkeepers say, business is also good. This is due to increasing population in the town brought in by developmental activities.
Meanwhile, the residents are expecting things to get better once they shift to the new town area. But when will they shift will depend on how quickly construction works are taken up.
