Sanitation: To improve hygiene and maintain cleanliness, Khatoed gewog in Gasa is planning to use this year’s Gewog Development Grant (GDG) to purchase toilet materials for the people of the gewog.

The proposal came from the people of five chiwogs in Khatoed, said gup Thinley Wangdi, who is also the Dzongkhag Tshogdu thrizeen. Initially people requested that the GDG be used to construct toilets. The gewog decided to purchase materials to construct toilets instead.

Thinley Wangdi said that without a single hotel in the gewog, many are setting up home-stays and that not having a standard toilet is a problem.

The gewog has decided to spend Nu 1.8 million (M) of the Nu 2M GDG to purchase the toilet materials. Those already having standard toilets can choose to either accept money or materials like cement, toilet pot and septic tanks.

Khatoed gewog has 58 households. The gup said they would try to procure materials for toilets of all households. “We will try to use the GDG of the next fiscal year if we fall short of budget.”

Gup Thinley Wangdi said people will have to participate in a lucky dip to ascertain if they will receive the materials this year or in the next fiscal year.

He said having improved toilets would help Gasa achieve its goal of becoming the cleanest dzongkhag.

The gewog mangmi Sangay Tashi said that many households in the dzongkhag and the gewog used pit toilets.

He said the gewog decided to contribute the remaining budget from the GDG to the upcoming Moenlam Chenmo in the dzongkhag, since it is the dzongkhag’s first Moenlam Chenmo.

Meanwhile, the gup said the gewog used the previous GDGs to construct farm roads, buy milking cows for each household and purchase barbed wire.

Dawa Gyelmo | Gasa