The Bhutanese Leading the way.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between BRO Project DANTAK and Green Bhutan Corporation Limited (GBCL) on Friday at the DANTAK office in Thimphu to employ environmentally acceptable green approaches for slide mitigation at the request of the Department of Roads (DoR) under Ministry of Works and Human Settlement.
As per the press release from Project DANTAK, Damchu-Chukha Road has five critical landslide points and during monsoons, due to rock fall, the road users face difficulty in commuting through the road.
To overcome this, after joint inspections, GBCL has proposed the remedy measure by carrying out slide protection by deep rooted plants and plantation confined with drainage of water, which will provide safety of slope as well as strengthening it.
In collaboration with DoR, BRO Project DANTAK has become the torchbearer in employing green initiatives for slope stabilization.
“This will not only provide safety to travelers but will aid in afforestation and reforestation plantations in Bhutan contributing to the National Climate Change Mitigation efforts,” the press release stated.
According to the Chief Engineer of Project DANTAK, Brigadier Jaswinder Singh, with slope stabilization, the fresh mud that occurs during the monsoons will stop flowing and when the mud is not flowing, the road is safer, the area will not sink, and an individual will get comfort while commuting.
“And it will also save time because when you have a terrible road, you will take more time and with slope stabilization road travel will be smoother with less accidents, which is what we hope to achieve from this project,” he said.
GCBL will carry out the slope stabilization work at Damchu, Chukha road from Chukha side at locations Km 7.20, Km 6.70, Km 17, Km 26 and Km 21. The estimated cost for the project is Nu 10 million, and it is expected to be completed by 31 July 2023.
