If you have travelled to Zhemgang, you might have experienced the hurdle of driving along the dzongkhag’s internal road. It is narrow and some stretches are in bad condition. Despite the increase in population and number of vehicles, internal road connectivity has remained the same for decades. And now, commuters are asking for improvement.
The stretch of the road near Bhutan telecom colony connects the dzong, the hospital, and some regional offices of lower Zhemgang town. It has been dug for years but never repaired. Similar dents have covered other parts of the road.
According to a resident in the town, Yeshila, the road, filled with potholes damages vehicles. He said that the U-turns are also too narrow and sharp and that they pose dangers of collision with approaching vehicles.
“Roads in the town look no better than farm roads. Most stretches are covered by bushes,” he said.
Even at the outskirts of the town, the road is either shrouded with bushes or buried under stagnant water.
According to a resident of Trong, Dorji, this is a big problem at their place as nobody takes care of the road.
“The road is in bad shape with even the debris of landslide kept as it is,” he said.
However, people in Zhemgang town will see brighter days. The dzongkhag administration has financed Nu. 2.5 M for maintenance works. The works have already been tendered to a private contractor. The works to rectify uneven turns; erect streetlights and blacktop the damaged roads have kick-started.
Pema Samdrup
