The Bhutanese Leading the way.
Weekends at the Centenary Farmers’ Market (CFM) is hectic as thousands of people come to shop for fresh vegetables, fruits and other farm produce. Traffic congestion in the market area is a pressing issue as more numbers of shoppers come with their cars.
Therefore, Thimphu Thromde plans to build more vegetable sheds in each local area plan (LAP), so that the human and traffic congestion eases, and vehicle accident or injuries can be avoided.
Executive Secretary of Thimphu Thromde, Passang Dorji, said, “Today the traffic police are regulating the traffic movement, and may be people also should do vegetable shopping on days other than weekends to cut down such issues.”
He also said that Thromde will construct vegetable sheds in Babesa, Dechencholing and Taba within the coming fiscal year. “I can’t remember the exact budget figure, but it is secured and will make sure to address this issue soon,” he added.
A shopper in CFM, Phurba, said although he did not face any issues with the parking, however, he said that he did witness other drivers having a hard time parking their cars in CFM parking area. “There was one incident when I saw a car parked in the middle parking line that was hit by a Tucson which was parked just in front of his car. The other incident, I would say, is traffic congestion which is frustrating for everyone,” he said.
Similarly, a shopkeeper in CFM said, “Many minor accidents happen at times. We also got to see that the old people taking a long time to just cross a small way because drivers refuse to give way, and they fail to cross road during rush hours.”
A 43-year-old resident near CFM, Pema, said the heavy traffic congestion creates disturbances in the area. “At night, we can’t sleep because of stray dogs, and in day time, we won’t have peace stay due to massive noise and traffic congestion,” she said.
She also said it is sometimes hard for her to find a parking in front of her house. Many residents like Pema are hopeful that the traffic congestion will be reduced once more vegetable shopping sheds are opened in other neighborhoods.
