Sand is scarce
22 August 2008
With increasing construction and development activates taking place around the country, contractors say that they are facing shortage of sand, which is delaying construction work.
Many of the contractors have resorted to using sand made from crushed stones bought from Singye Company in Bjemina, for their personal construction.
“I have used other alternatives for my private construction but, for government projects, I am using sand which I had stocked up beforehand,” said the proprietor of Yarkay Constructions. The Natural Resources Development Corporation Limited (NRDCL) charges a royalty of Nu 560 for eight cubic meters of sand bought from the quarry site in Wangduephodrang. It is Nu 1130 if bought from the depot.
However, the shortage of sand had affected the market price of the sand. Earlier, contractors paid about Nu 5000, which included the price of the sand and the transportation, for a truckload of sand. They now pay about Nu 8000.
“I am ready to pay any amount but the raw material is not available in the market. I have even imported from Phuentsholing,” said Ugay, a desperate contractor, whose work has been delayed.
He also bought four truckloads of sand made from crushed stone for his own building recently.
Sangay Gyeltshen, the Marketing Manager of NRDCL, said that their stocks in Wangdue and Punakha were exhausted in the beginning of August. He said that they had just enough stock for ongoing government projects. “We are exploring areas to overcome the shortage and making it easier for contractors to get sand from Phuentsholing by negotiating rates with truckers,” said Sangay Gyeltshen.
However, with the increase in the price of fuel and the roads damaged every now and then between the Phuentsholing-Thimphu highway, contractors are suffering.
This year NRDCL supplied 14,000 truckloads of sand and they say that the shortage came about as a case of supply not meeting demand.
“The season is over and the other possibility of sand shortage in the market may be due to hoarding but people can avail sand at an affordable price from us,” said Sangay Gyeltshen. The ‘season’ will start from the month of October.
The shortage of sand has not only affected contractors but also the business of truckers who transport sand for contractors. Kinley, who transports sand from Wangdue to Thimphu, said he has less work now. “There is no sand at the source so I have started taking up other local work,” he said.
Some of the truckers can be seen playing cards or dozing off in their trucks at the truck park in Thimphu as they do not have much to do.
By Tandin Pem
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At least if the sand is depleted naturally that way, we have nothing to curse the greedy and insatiable Yap. Earlier on, people felt resentful because this so called Yap seemed to have created an artificial scarcity to rob the Bhutanese of their hard earned money.
Now there seems to be the rule of law, although it is a shame on the part of Syngye to not accept any responsibility for their extreme brutality on our mother Bhutan when they senselessly overexploited the quarry at Bjimina.
They solely blamed the confusion among the Ministry of Agriculture and Geogology for unduliy and without any restraint letting this ruthless and unpatriotatic company perpetuate their sin at Bjimina instead of being very thankful to these not only chamchas but chamchagiris.
Indeed this is what these chamcha giries deserve for their hand in glove dishonesty towards our mother Bhutan. More than that , these officials actually should be taken to task by the Anti-Corruption Commission and the office of the Attorny General by prosecuting them in a court of law to ensure their removal from their positions so that their place could be taken by more honest and sincere Bhutanese rather then these rotten chamcha giris who fign ignorance and confusion to protect their own skin when they were betrayed by their masters such as Singye and their evil thrown into the limelight by the media.
Evils indeed can thrive in the darkness and thakes to the media in Bhutan who ensure that light is sheded on these kinds of evil deeds for the betterment of justice and equity in Bhutan.Our judiciary needs to be given real independence of judiciary to boldly punish auch perpetors irrespective of their status or connections.
Long live Bhutan and long live the rule of law in Bhutan.