Two excavators are clearing the Riwotala road, which is in dangerous condition most of the time. With no signboards and no one around for information, travelling is risky.

The road has to be cleared every few hours as the source of water above the road keeps triggering slides.

On the other side, towards Zhemgang, falling boulders pose danger to the travellers.

During the daytime, workers at the site help the travellers to cross the stretch.

Recently a corporate employee who was returning to Thimphu after an official tour in Zhemgang was stranded for more than three hours at the site.  “ I started my journey at 6am from Zhemgang but the road was blocked from both the sides. There were two machines but no operator.”

Travellers said that Department of Roads (DoR) should have someone at the site for safety information.

DoR’s chief engineer with regional office in Trongsa, Ugyen Dorji, said the stretch was open for traffic and signboards were needed.

He said a geo-technology study was carried out for the stretch and recommendations were made to divert the water source.

Staff reporter