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Fragile terrain cause of deaths

15 August 2008

The casualties, 11 in four weeks, along a stretch of the Thimphu-Phuentsholing highway could not solely be attributed to the broadening work of the highway, said the Chief Engineer of DANTAK, Brigadier Rajesh Tyagi, during a press conference held on August 13.

“There have been casualties at Sorchen and Jumja before but it is not because of the road work but the geography of the area,” he said adding that the terrain was fragile.

Asked if the broadening work could be halted during the monsoon, he said that the deadlines will not be met and that landslides actually helped to bring about stability.

“When there are landslides, all those parts that are loose come down and the stable part remains.” He added that though there is an alternative road via Gelephu people preferred using the Phuentsholing to Thimphu highway as the other route was lengthy.

He said that road workers were more vulnerable to accidents than the passers-by as they had to work at the site continuously. According to him, till date, some 18 DANTAK workers have dieddied on the Phuentsholing to Thimphu Highway.

Brigadier Rajesh Tyagi said that one of the main problems at the broadening site was poor visibility caused by fog. One could just about see 10 meters ahead making it difficult to figure out if there was is going to be a landslide or not.

In the meantime, the roadblocks have affected thousands of people, particularly those who literally depend upon it for a living. Farmers who came to Phuentsholing to sell their vegetables had to spend all their earnings for their unp1planned stay here. The same has happened to shoppers forced to bear the brunt of lodging charges.

“My boarding charge has already risen to Nu 3,500 so I am skipping some meals,” said Karma Penjor, a retailer from Thimphu. He said he could not buy anything as he had to spend all his money on travel expenses.

A few passengers, who decided to travel via Gelephu, said their travelling expenses came close to Nu 2,000 a day. They paid Nu 1,200 for a taxi and Nu 1,600 for boarding in Gelephu. Frequent strikes in Assam has also made taxi business along the Indian road difficult.

Passengers who travelled at their own risk, had an impromptu sleepover in their vehicles as the road was blocked between Jumja and Gedu. The following day promised less hope as a massive landslide hit a DCM truck, claiming three lives. A taxi driver, who witnessed the incident, said he narrowly escaped the accident.

“The truck was a few metres behind me when the slide rammed into it,” he said. The road remained blocked after the incident. Another taxi driver, Singye, said, “my passengers were unable to return with me to Phuentsholing as they did not have enough money. They decided to walk through the jungle after I dropped them at Taktikhoti.”

Phuentsholing residents are hard hit by the roadblocks too. They said that since they could not get fresh vegetables for more than a week, they were compelled to import the same from Jaigaon. They said vegetable prices in the local market had doubled since the roadblocks.

The roadblocks have also disrupted telecom services. “For about ten days, the internet connection has been so slow that we could not work efficiently,” said Dorji, a private media employee.

The Area Manager of Bhutan Telecom in Phuentsholing said it was the roadblocks that disrupted their services, adding that the BPC tower, which was also used by Bhutan Telecom, was damaged by a landslide.

Officials have been sent to repair the damage but their progress has been hampered by more landslides and constant roadblocks.

By Pushkar Chhetri  & Sangay Wangchuk & Dorji Gyeltshen

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