The Bhutanese Leading the way.
Samdrup Jongkhar will put-into-action a comprehensive urban developmental plan to end a most bitter phase of chronic water problems, housing problems, sewerage problems and other municipality facilities-related issues.
Urban Specialist under Ministry of Work and Human Settlement (MoWHS) Meghraj Adhikari said that these issues would be reviewed through proper analysis and consultative process.
The urban developmental plan is a proposal that covers not only the arrangement of physical space and infrastructure but also economic development which includes all socio-economic development issues.
The urban specialist said the structure plan with two local area plans, which was released in August 2010, had to be revisited because “With declaration of Samdrup Jongkhar as Class A town by parliament, many needs had emerged”.
Samdrup Jongkhar was upgraded to Class A Thromde after the satellite town Deothang was included, which is 18 kms away. Deothang with a population of round 1,818 covers an area of 1.20 square kms.
The urban specialist said the plan is ideally revised in five to 10 years time to incorporate all emerging needs.
The Samdrup Jongkhar plan aims to make the Thromde ecologically sensitive and culturally vibrant by incorporating the cultural, religious and institutional heritage of Bhutan and provide opportunities for stable economic base in the town to serve the region.
The report states that the project area extends to 3 square km including Deothang.
However, the delay in finalization of structure plans and local area plans had already affected major activities like internal road network, drainage, landfill site, sewerage and above all water shortage was the main problem.
An official from the Bank of Bhutan said that there is a huge water problem and they have to fetch water from a nearby pond which is actually not a safe water source.
“There is timing for water in our residence but we hardly get water on time,” said a corporate employee Karma choki.
In addition Construction Development Corporation Limited (CDCL) employee Lhendup said that the concerned personnel are irresponsible as they don’t supply water at appropriate time.
“There was one situation where the water was supplied in afternoon when everyone was in office, and sometimes it is supplied early in the morning when everyone would be asleep,” he said.
Businessman Pema Dorji said that water shortage becomes a major issue during monsoon season. When there is a landslide, water pipelines are broken and water sources are filled with boulders and debris.
Samdrup Jongkhar Thrompon Karma Sherub Tobgyal said “to overcome these issues Thromde plans to establish tube wells in different areas covering certain zones as an alternative source.
“Regarding the housing problem, government has already marked three acres of an area near Primary school to construct around 200 units of residential building,” he said.
He added that 24 units of building had been constructed by National Housing Development Corporation (NHDC), located near old Public Works Department (PWD) colony. It would be completed by June 2013.
