A farm road is to help farmers reach their produce to the market on time and with ease. But what if the condition of the road defeats the objective? Zamding Chiwog under Ruebisa Gewog in Wangdue Phodrang is connected with a farm road but the road is not serving its purpose. However, the gewog administration plans to resurface the road and make it benefit the residents before this monsoon.
For now, the road is filled with potholes and lacks proper drainage. In summer, the road gets marshy and most times, villagers travel on foot leaving their vehicles at home.
Dawa, a villager from Bangtoedkha chiwog in Ruebisa said, “the road is filled with potholes. The laterite soil becomes slippery when it rains and it becomes difficult to ply over such a slippery road. We have to change our vehicle parts twice a year, which is quite an expense.”
Another villager from Bangtoedkha, Phurba added, “In summer, vehicles get stuck in the middle of the road where people can neither go up nor come down.”
Villagers say that the road needs maintenances and proper drainage system.
“It would be more convenient for the people if resurfacing is done with a proper drainage system,” said Namgay Wangchuk, a commuter.
Often times, farmers hire taxis to transport their agricultural produce to the market. But due to the road conditions, villagers say the drivers charge them extra.
Phub Dorji, the village Tshogpa said, “they cannot afford to take their products to the market, as they have to hire a taxi. It is a kind of harassment for them as some taxi driver charges them extra fares while some even deny to take them due to the road condition. Even my bolero breaks down time and again and I have to walk most of the time.”
But these problems seem to be ending. Before the monsoon season starts this year, the gewog administration will complete resurfacing the road with a Granular Sub Base (GSB) level. This means the road will be levelled with a layer of compressed sand and stone aggregates.
Ruebisa Gup Karma Wangdi said, “the government is funding the resurfacing works here. There is more than Nu 8.3 M for the project. So, we have tendered the works and given the documents to the contractor. Therefore, we are expecting to begin the works soon and planning to complete it by March and April this year.”
According to the Gup, the Gewog Tshogde decided to prioritize farm road in this financial year and farm roads to other villages like Bangtoedkha, Bjagphu and Ula chiwogs will also be resurfaced.
Changa Dorji, Wangdue Phodrang
