Rajesh Rai | Phuentsholing

After much delay, the Rinchending integrated check post in Phuentsholing started operating yesterday.

All vehicles heading towards Thimphu and beyond will now be diverted from the new check post.

The chief engineer with the Department of Engineering Services under the Ministry of Works and Human Settlement (MoWHS), Dechen Norbu, said the integrated check post will house all law enforcement agencies.

“However, the check post will be manned by the police,” he said.

MoWHS officials handed over the check post to the police in a simple ceremony yesterday

Dechen Norbu said the check post was targeted for inauguration in mid-January this year but the lockdown affected the plan.

“The construction was also supposed to end in March 2021,” he said, adding that the Covid-19 pandemic and repeated lockdowns in Phuentsholing, which was fueled by shortage of labourers, delayed the construction.

The new integrated check post will be efficient and deliver uninterrupted services equipped with modern amenities such as automated boom gates and automated vehicle plate reader. The washrooms are also made disabled-friendly.

Meanwhile, there were also speculations that the check post was in danger due to a crack near the old Rinchending check post that was caused due to a landslide in the summer of 2021.

Officials have, however, claimed that the crack is far away from the new check post and does not pose any risk.

Dechen Norbu said that the construction was carried out after detailed geotechnical designs.

The integrated check post construction works started on September 29, 2015, with the consultant works for “structural design and supervision.”

Construction on the site began in July 2016.

In total, there are four phases of work and a total of Nu 415.218 millions (M) have been invested. The integrated check post is constructed on 4.57 acres of land.

The Chief of Police inaugurated the check post yesterday. The MoWHS officials handed over the check post to the police in a simple ceremony.