Finally, an alternative has been arranged for Goishing Ridzommo chiwog’s farm road in Pema Gatshel. The stretch, which has remained unused for some three years now, will be realigned. Monsoon rain in 2018 washed away the road at several locations and it was left without maintenance since then.
Villagers say they were able to use the road only in the first year of its completion. And so, their socio-economic condition hasn’t changed much even after the arrival of a farm road till the village.
“The government encourages us to do more farming works and we are doing that. We are producing ginger, turmeric and other vegetables. But the problem is we have to transport them to the market on our backs. It is difficult to get labourers even if we are willing to pay,” said Samten Norbu a resident of Goishing Ridzommo Chiwog, Dechhenling Gewog.
“The government cleared a road for us but it has remained damaged by landslides for some years now. There has been no maintenance. This created many problems for us. Whatever we produce, we have to carry it on our backs till the nearest road point. It is challenging,” added Choni Dorji.
The chiwog tshogpa says the problem was already discussed during one of the gewog meetings and its maintenance budget approved as well.
“We didn’t receive any date from the gewog office for the works to start. We already allocated one million ngultrum for the road’s maintenance during the Gewog Tshogde. We even submitted its clearance and other documents to the gewog. I don’t know why it is delayed,” said Goishing Ridzommo Tshogpa Thungsi Norbu.
The gewog administration says things are now progressing. The survey to realign around one kilometre of the farm road, which is geologically unstable, is complete.
“The gewog tshogde decided to start the works soon. We were engaged in the national vaccination drive for some time. Moreover, the machinery of the hiring agent we identified was occupied with another work. But now, the agent agreed to deploy a machine to work in Redzimmo by any means,” said Dechhenling Gup Sonam Rinchen.
The gup says overall maintenance and additional works along the road are also included in the project.
“People have been asking only about the road. They never mentioned the need for a bridge in between. But the gewog office has planned to construct a small bridge over one of the streams for bolero pick-up trucks to get across.”
Once the restoration works are complete, the road will benefit the people of over 50 households in the chiwog. At the moment, they walk for more than an hour to reach the nearest road-head from their village.
Thinley Dorji, Pema Gatshel
