Phub Dem | Paro

The cremation ground at Tachogang in Hungrel gewog has been facing an increasing crowd and traffic congestion since the cremation ground near Paro Kyichu Lhakhang closed about four years ago.

Hungrel Gup Gyem Thinley said that people prefer the common cremation ground at Tachogang over other cremation grounds in Paro such as Lemchi Goenpa in Tsento, Drangoe Goenpa in Nemjo and Guru’s cremation ground on the way to Chumphu.

He said that the Tachogang crematorium received fewer people when the one at Kyichu was open. Tachogang’s lone crematorium receives around six bodies in a week.

There is a huge impact on the limited facilities when the cremation ground receives more than two bodies in a day, the gup said.

During the recent Paro Dzongkhag Tshogdu, Gyem Thinley said that the crematorium was facing a significant challenge in managing traffic. He requested the dzongkhag to construct a proper parking lot at the earliest.

“We have to put many facilities in places such as water taps and proper shelter. People have to pitch tents to accommodate their things and to carry out the rites.”

Given the importance of the crematorium to the people of 10 gewogs and rising population, Wangchang Gup Kuenzang Rinzin said that dzongkhag must reprioritise the budget for the maintenance of the cremation ground.

He said that the dzongkhag could relocate the budget from activities that were cancelled due to the pandemic. “Since there was no tshechu and other cultural events, the budget allotted for the dzongkhag cultural office could be used in maintaining the crematorium.”

Following the resolution of the previous DT, a committee was formed to study the issues at the crematorium and to recommend solutions.

Gyem Thinley, who is also a member of the committee, said that there was no space for extension and bad roads caused inconvenience during funeral rites.

He said that two households whose land are near the crematorium agreed to surrender their land for the extension of the cremation ground if provided with land substitute.

Commuters today use the road via Dop-Shari to reach the crematorium. A farm road to the cremation ground was blocked by a person who complained about the substitute land for his land used for the road.

According to the gup, the individual said that the concerned officials have to solve his land issue so that people don’t have to drive five kilometres to reach the cremation ground.