The Bhutanese Leading the way.
A place that faces a frequent problem of overflowing sewage is the Norzin Lam, located along main town, in Thimphu. An engineer with the Thimphu District Municipality (TDM), Samten Lhendrup, said such a problem becomes worse when it rains, especially along the Norzin Lam, with sewage overflowing into the main streets and corners of the town.
TDM now has a plan in place to build a bypass at the Norzin Lam to increase the carrying capacity of sewage.
“To overcome this problem, TDM has planned to bypass the sewage in between the Etho- Metho Plaza along the Police Station,” Samten Lhendrup said.
A new sewage treatment plant will also be constructed near the current sewage treatment plant in Babesa with funds from the Asian Development Bank (ABD). The sewage will be treated, without chemicals, and then discharged into the river.
Samten Lhendrup said TDM is also monitoring the illegal connection of gutter and drain water into the sewage lines. “If there is an illegal connection, we do not directly impose penalty, but we give the house owner a notice,” he added. House owners that have the drains connected to the sewage lines have been asked to stop. A fine is imposed if the defaulter fails to disconnect the lines after a third notice is served.
