As part of its corporate social responsibility, the State Trading Corporation of Bhutan Limited (STCBL) is building 15 houses for the people of Lha-sarp village under Loggchina Gewog in Chhukha. Six houses were inaugurated and handed over to the people last week.
The remaining nine houses are expected to be completed before the monsoon. The new house has three rooms, a toilet attached and a kitchen outside.
People in Lha-sarp have been living in wrecked wooden houses. Despite having fertile land, they have no income. Due to the human-wildlife conflict, very little is left for self-consumption.
“Since our houses here were too small, it is very difficult to organise special events like lochoe (annual rituals). Now I feel that we will be able to conduct it well. We never thought we would be provided with a new house. We are very much indebted to STCBL for that,” said Karma Om, from Lha-sarp under Loggchina Gewog in Chhukha.
“The new house will help us in maintaining good sanitation too. Until now, we used open spaces as a toilet as we were not able to construct a toilet. Forget about the toilet, it is challenging to have three meals a day. We are grateful for the new house,” added Daw Tshering, from the same village.
About Nu 0.5 M was spent on each house. Similarly, STCBL has constructed toilets for the Chimuna Primary School worth over Nu 2 M, this year.
Sonam Penjor