Neten Dorji

About 4.2 kilometres of road between Burbula and Buyang will soon be blacktopped. That stretch of the 4.2-km highway is riddled with potholes. 

The work has been awarded to a contractor.

Commuters say that because of that bad stretch, it takes about two hours to travel between Trashigang and Trashiyangtse. If that stretch is blacktopped, the distance would be reduced to about one and a half hours’ drive.

Regular commuters say that if the entire length of the highway is blacktopped, the travel time between the two dzongkhag headquarters could be cut short by one hour.

A 42-year-old taxi driver, who frequently drives to Trashigang, said that driving on the highway is manageable in winter but risky during the monsoon because the Burbula-Buyang stretch is filled with potholes.

A Bolero pickup driver, Kinley, said that road conditions between Chagzam and Koncholing had improved.

“It has shortened the distance and time, but there are certain portions that need to be improved,” he said. “We are happy that the stretch will be blacktopped soon before it worsens.”

He said that the road after Buyang is narrow and should be widened.

A regular commuter, Wangchuk, who travels to Trashiyangtse frequently for official work, said, “We do not understand why the road has been left without a blacktop for so long,” he said, adding that it took too long to blacktop the road.

Residents said that the Department of Roads (DoR) carries out blacktopping work, but the work is not consistent even as the stretch is getting worse.

“Most people use the Trashiyangtse-Doksum highway for business and to go to the hospital,” said a resident, Pema.

An official from the Department of Roads (DoR) said that blacktopping of the 4.2-km stretch will be complete by the end of the next financial year.

“We do not have the budget to blacktop the remainder of the Burbula-Buyang stretch,” said the official. “At one point, the project stopped, and work could not be completed without funding from Kholongchu Hydro Energy Limited.”

He said the budget is sourced from the KHEL project, which committed to providing Nu 114 million.

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