Residents of Nyasikhar chiwog in Pema Gatshel are eager for their new farm road to be completed soon. The Nyasikhar-Kuri Gongri road will make travelling safer and convenient while also reducing travel time. However, people are upset that the project has not been completed on the deadline set initially.
The new farm road which is more than nine kilometres will connect Nyasikhar chiwog with the Nganglam-Gyalpoizhing highway. It will also replace or give people a choice over the old farm road which runs through Dungmaed Gewog and is around 20 kilometres long. However, residents are upset as the project which was scheduled to be completed by the end of last year is still not yet done.
“We have an existing road from Chiphung side. But during the summer, it gets blocked frequently and gives us lots of trouble. If this road gets ready soon, we will be benefitted very much. Then it will take only 9 kilometres to reach Gongri,” said Sangay Dorji, from Nyasikhar under Chhimoong Gewog.
“We cannot travel or transport anything on the old road, especially in summer. We are trapped here as if we are in the prison. It will be two years in March since the project started. We are worried when it will complete,” added Dorji Gyeltshen, the Nyasikhar Tshogpa.
Meanwhile, the Gewog Administration says they looked into it. They found works got delayed as transporting fuel and construction materials were hampered when the old road got damaged. Heavy rain and unexpected issues had also disrupted works. However, they expect the road to be ready in a few months.
“Sometimes the machines break down. And with the current situation because of the pandemic, it is difficult to get spare parts and even mechanics to repair the machines. However, only about six hundred meters are left to be cleared. We expect it would take maybe just more than two months,” said Yeshi Wangdi, the Chhimoong Gup.
The new farm road will benefit over 50 households from the two chiwogs. It is being constructed with a budget of Nu 8 M million.
Thinley Dorji, PemaGatshel
