Residents of Tsamang Gewog in Monggar are requesting a motorable bridge over the Kurichu to connect with the Lhuentse-Monggar Secondary National Highway. Without a motorable bridge, people have to take a longer route through Lingmithang and Yongkola, travelling about 73 kilometres to reach the gewog centre from Monggar. Some choose to walk across the old Dorjilung Suspension Bridge to save time.
Residents of Baanjar and Thuenmong-Tokari chiwogs in Tsamang rely on the Dorjilung suspension bridge to reach their villages.
Although the chiwogs are connected by a farm road from the gewog centre, many prefer the suspension bridge because it offers a shorter route.
People say it takes them about two hours to drive from their village to Monggar using the farm road. However, by crossing the Dorjilung suspension bridge, the journey takes only one hour.
Without a motorable bridge over the Kurichu, people have to travel about 73 kilometres, passing through Yongkola to reach Tsamang Gewog from Monggar.
If a new bridge is built, the distance would be reduced by about 35 kilometres, easing travel for the people.
“We can reach the riverside. However, without a bridge we are stuck. The longer route doubles our travel costs and selling vegetables and other produce becomes a struggle. We have to transport them by vehicle and the high transportation charges use up our earnings. Forget about profits, what we make barely covers the costs. If we had a bridge, we could see some profits,” said Sonam Tenzin, a resident of Baanjar.
“Since the Gewog centre is in Baanjar village, we have to travel from Ganglapong village for services and other needs. The journey is challenging, we have to travel about 141 kilometres to reach the gewog centre which consumes a lot of fuel. To save costs, we park our vehicles by the roadside and continue on foot. Driving the entire way would cost us an additional Nu 1,000 in fuel, making it very difficult for us,” said Jamyang Tenzin, a resident of Ganglapong.
The Tsamang Gup said that a farm road was constructed and bridge materials arrived a few years ago.
However, the earlier bridge plan was cancelled because it was not strong enough to support the heavy machinery needed for the Dorjilung hydropower project.
“The Dorjilung project requires a bridge to transport machinery and equipment. However, the previous bridge design was found inadequate and would have led to unnecessary costs. After discussions, the government and the project team decided that the project would construct the bridge. However, there is no written confirmation of its start date. We had discussions to start as soon as possible with plans to start by early 2025,” said Sonam Phuntsho, Tsamang Gup.
Once constructed, the new bridge will benefit about 160 households in two chiwogs of Tsamang Gewog. It will also help other gewogs and districts by improving travel to Thimphu and Bumthang.
Sonam Darjay, Monggar
Edited by Sonam Pem
