About 20 trucks travelling via Assam have been stranded in Gelegphu for the past one week. This is because the bridge at Deosari in Assam, India has been found unsafe for heavy vehicles to ply on, after cracks developed on the bridge.
Truck drivers who are stranded at Gelegphu are worried they will not be able to pay their monthly instalments to the bank from where they availed loans to purchase their trucks.
“I am forced to stay in a hotel and running out of money. I come every morning at the gate with the hope we might be allowed to leave,” said Nima Tshering, a truck driver.
Some of the truck drivers said a few heavy vehicles coming from Phuentshogling and Panbang were allowed to ply after paying certain amount of money to the Indians at the bridge.
“We don’t know whom to approach because it has been a week and we are not permitted to travel. We had already agreed on the supply price so we cannot afford to travel via other route like box-cutting where the truck with heavy load gets stuck,” said another trucker, Tsagay.
Despite the inconvenience, the Gelegphu police have made it clear that no heavy vehicles will be allowed to ply along the Assam route even if it is without a load. The decision is in the larger interest of the people. They said if the bridge gets damaged, most of the Bhutanese will suffer.
The restriction will be lifted only once the bridge has been repaired. Until then, the heavy vehicles will have to travel via alternative routes.
