The automobile workshops in Punakha have been left in a pickle following the recent Dzongkhag Tshogdu meeting. After years of planning and preparation to develop the workshops in Khuruthang town, plans have now changed and the Thromde office is instead looking to relocate them. The problem doesn’t end here with the Thromde Office unable to find a suitable site for the relocation.
There are currently five automobile workshops at the site offering various services to the people.
One major complaint customers have is the scarcity of vehicle spare parts.
“We can’t get any vehicle parts from the workshops here. We have to place the order and wait for the parts to arrive. Sometimes it takes months but we have no option but to wait. It is difficult if you have to pay loans,” said Tenzinla.
Another customer Shyam Lama says there “aren’t sufficient mechanics in the workshops and then we can’t get any of the spare parts here. We either have to go all the way to Lobesa or to Thimphu looking for the parts. And if your vehicle isn’t working, then we have to look for a ride or find a taxi, so it is time-consuming and very inconvenient.”
The workshop owners said they are unable to stock up on the vehicle parts since they do not have proper structures.
“Since we don’t have permanent structures, we are not able to stock up on all the required spare parts. The customers also complain all the time. They have to travel all the way to Lobesa to get the spare parts,” said Purna Devi Sarki , one of the five workshop owners. “We have not been able to run our business properly as well.”
The workshops were constructed on state land in 2012 and the owners were given a 10-year-lease. A few years before the expiry of the lease contracts, they went to the Thromde Office with their plans to develop the workshops and asked for a longer extension. The office agreed to extend their lease by 30 years. Owners say they then started preparing the building designs which also got approved. But just as the construction works were about to start, the Thromde told them to wait.
The Dzongkhag Administration had written to the Department of Culture under the Home Ministry seeking their permission for the workshop constructions since the town is located near the Dzong. But the Department instructed the office to relocate the workshops since it is located right next to the entrance of Khuruthang affecting the town’s appearance.
The issue was also discussed during last year’s DT and a letter was sent to the department that responded recently with the same instructions.
During the DT meeting last month, the house decided to relocate the automobile workshops to another location.
“We are still looking for an appropriate area to relocate the workshop area. However, I am not sure if we can find such a place, because we don’t have any land. Up north we have the river and in the south, we have Wangdue district,” said the Thromde Ngotshab, Namgay Tshering.
With officials unsure of a proper place for the relocation, it looks like the problems for both workshop owners and residents will continue for some time.
Changa Dorji, Punakha
Edited by Yeshi Gyaltshen
