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Army rebuild homes

23 October 2009

RBA officers and soldiers are rebuilding homes across the region devastated by the September 21 earthquake at the command of His Majesty the King.

Among the first people to reach affected areas, the soldiers are currently helping the villagers salvage timbers from damaged houses to be used for rebuilding.

The Chief of Army said the RBA had been given the task of evacuating the injured, supplying rations, constructing temporary shelters, retrieving artifacts from lhakhangs and monasteries and providing other relief assistance to the people. Some of the RBA personnel reached the affected places on September 22 while others reached on September 23.

Lieutenant Kesang Wangdi is in Thangrong Gewog in Monger with 45 of his men helping the affected people rebuild houses. He said they had completed building 22 temporary houses, 19 public houses and 17 temporary rooms besides rebuilding nine lhakhangs. “We have lots more to help,” he said. Lieutenant Kesang and his men reached Thangrong on September 23.

The army has given preference to homes that have no men. Tashi Dema, 72, and her daughter, Denam Zangmo, 48, are among the beneficiaries of the RBA’s relief efforts. “I nearly died in the incident, and we lost our house but His Majesty has told us not to worry and get frustrated,” said Tashi Dema. Tashi is still in a shock because she was trapped inside when her house collapsed. She said she was thankful to the soldiers who had built a temporary house for her.

The soldiers stay in a camp, and some of them walk for almost half an hour to work sites with packed lunch. They work between 7 am and 6 pm.

Sonam Tharchen, a soldier, has been doing relief works for more than two weeks. He said the temporary sheds they had built would last until they could rebuild the damaged houses. Meanwhile, a team from Rangjung Vocational Training Institute in Trashigang is helping the army dismantle houses with assistance from fire and safety division of Druk Green Power Corporation.

The RBA is ready to help people rebuild their houses. It is waiting for the approved structural plan from the government.

The villagers said they would never have been able to rise from the disaster if it was not for the RBA’s help.

By Tandin Pem

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