The road at Ossey, which is about 27km away from Gelephu, has been blocked for about two weeks now.

An official with the Department of Roads (DoR), CB Mongar, said: “There has been recurrent blocks in the area. The place becomes foggy which impedes the work. The safety of the workers is another issue when it comes to clearing the block.”

He said that a few days ago, a boulder hit an excavator and injured the operator. A falling boulder also damaged a crow dealer yesterday. “Besides the slides on the road, the road’s formation width also gets eroded, which makes it difficult to clear the block.”

He said that there was continuous rain, rolling boulders, and landslides at the area and the work carried out intermittently.

CB Mongar said that the department was also looking for the realignment of the road, which is about 4.4km long. “The survey has already been conducted.      However, a geological study is necessary. We wanted to involve geo-tech experts.”

Three excavators and two crow dealers have been deployed at the place to work on clearing the block. About 15 people are involved in clearing the block.

CB Mongar said progress was being made. “However, it is likely to get cleared within four to five days if the weather is favourable.”

An alternate route is being used at the moment.

A DoR official at Tingtibi, Zhemgang said that a roadblock occurred yesterday at Khikher, which is about 25 km away from Tingtibi. “We are working on clearing the block.”

Another block occurred along the Chukha-Damchu bypass below Tshimasham yesterday evening.

According to the Royal Bhutan Police’s Facebook post, it was due to falling boulders and landslides.

Rinchen Zangmo

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