The Bhutanese Leading the way.
The small township of Kanglung has been facing a housing issue for years but the problem has only gotten worse with its key institution, Sherubtse College, expanding over the years and the town development works kept on hold for more than a decade.
The director of Sherubtse College, Tshering Wangdi, said the housing problem in Kanglung is a major issue and it has continued even after the government identified Kanglung as the eastern educational hub.
“With Sherubtse College being extended and BHU being expanded and the subsequent increase in the number of doctors and staffs, the housing problem in Kanglung has become worse,” Tshering Wangdi said. “With the plan to establish a new private school, Kelki High School, and college graduates seeking to stay in rented apartments have made the issue very complicated. But at the same time, there are steps we are taking to solve what has become one of our region’s most pressing problems.
He said the college was constructing staff quarters and hostels to accommodate the students and also ensuring that the students stay in hostel and not in rented apartments
Kanglung Mangmi Kuenzang Tshering said housing has always been an issue in Kanglung but the main problem started with the establishment of Yonphula domestic airport.
Most of the people working there prefer to stay in Kanglung, which has a suitable location. Also, while the town development works are kept on hold, works to develop Kanglung town into an educational hub has already begun, with so many colleges and schools coming up.
“The increase in population in Kanglung started after the college increased the student intake from 2013 and most of the students prefer to stay in rented apartments, around 250 students are staying in rented apartment,” Mangmi Kuenzang Tshering said. “Compared to the past, the number of houses have increased and we are planning to increase further by helping in providing housing loans.”
However, the local gup refused to respond.
A college student said that since there is an acute shortage of houses in Kanglung, they stay at Khangma and travel 8-10 kilometers every day. “The housing issue needs special attention before it become more complicated to solve,” he said.
