Travelling to Thimphu from Dagana is currently tiresome. It takes at least a day by car. But Dagana District is planning to construct a new road which will shorten the distance by almost half. Among the plans is another road to connect the district with Wangdue Phodrang which will bring down the distance from more than a hundred kilometres to just over seven kilometres. The district administration is currently carrying out feasibility and preliminary studies.
The district plans to construct the new road towards Wangdue Phodrang from Balung Chiwog in Laja Gewog.
Dagana administration carried out the first feasibility study in April this year.
The district administration has allocated Nu 400,000 in the current fiscal year to carry out survey and other preliminary works on this road.
If everything goes as planned, the road will directly benefit Laja, Tsangkha and Drukjeygang Gewogs.
“The road will shorten the travel time for farmers of Laja Gewog to market their vegetables to Thimphu. Currently, they have to travel via Drukjeygang,” said Jamyang Dorji, the district engineer.
The district administration is also exploring the possibility of constructing a road connecting from Bartsa in Kana Gewog in Dagana to Dagala Gewog in Thimphu and Toktogom in Chhukha. The district administration has carried out the first feasibility study for the road in May this year.
Today, the distance between Thimphu and Dagana via Sunkosh is 236 kilometres.
“The distance between Thimphu and Dagana will be around 140 kilometres once we complete constructing the road. I am not an expert in forestry but the feasibility team when visiting the site did not feel that there will be any issue with environment. The mountains were not prone to landslides,” said Jamyang Dorji.
According to the district administration, the road is expected to significantly improve access to markets and attract tourists, benefiting the community and promoting economic growth.
The district administration hopes to start the works in the next five-year-plan.
Pema Tshewang, Dagana
