The Bhutanese Leading the way.
The remote regions of Gangzur in Lhuentse Dzongkhag and Kangpara and Thrimshing in Trashigang have become much more accessible with the gewog centre (GC) roads to these gewogs now black topped.
The 5.63 km Gangzur GC road will benefit 658 households of Gangzur. The gewog has achieved full electricity and sanitation coverage. It had 41 gungtongs (empty houses) in 2016. M/s Sonam Yeshee Construction did the blacktopping at a cost of Nu 12.584m under the Small Development Project (SDP) II.
Responding to queries during a recent meeting with the people of Gangzur, the works and human settlement minister, Dorji Choden, said the ministry was still working with other relevant agencies on Shingkhar-Gorgan road and the widening of the Gangola Lhuentse Road will be carried out in the 12th Plan. She also said that the widening of Mongar -Lhuentse highway had been delayed because the construction of Shingkhar-Gorgan bypass had not received clearance from the National Environment Commission (NEC).
She also informed the people that the proposed Dorjilung hydropower project will be implemented near the Mongar-Lhuentse highway, so its widening must be planned properly.
The 38km of Kangpara GC road was blacktopped at a cost of Nu.82.98m under the GOI Project Tied Assistance (PTA). M/s LG Construction, M/s Pelden Construction and M/s T Kunzom Pvt. Ltd did the black topping.
Meeting with the people of Kangpara, lyonpo Dorji Choden said people should be able to get prompt and efficient services, and sell agriculture, poultry and dairy produce more easily. “Youth in villages should capitalize on the high demand for agricultural products and easy access to rural credit facilities,” she said, “With these infrastructure and opportunities in our villages; we should not have gungtongs, and leave our land fallow.”
The road will cater to 4,430 households in 19 villages in the gewog. The gewog is 107 km from dzongkhag headquarter in Trashigang and shares its border with Merak, Thrimshing, Khaling and Shongphu gewogs of Trashigang, and Gomdar and Shinghar Lauri gewogs of Samdrup Jongkhar dzongkhag.
The 15.42 km GC road of Thrimshing was blacktopped at a cost of Nu 34.726m under the SDP II. M/s Palden Namgyel Construction Pvt. Ltd carried out the work.
The road will benefit 600 households of Thrimshing gewog. The gewog has achieved full coverage in rural water supply, electricity, mobile connectivity, and sanitation coverage. The gewog had 48.7km of farm road as of 2015.
