Disaster: The works and human settlement ministry is monitoring the flood situation across the country.
Works and human settlement minister, Dorji Choden, said that in some of the affected places the situation has gone from bad to worse. She said that the road at Sorchen was washed away and that a temporary bridge is being built and is expected to be completed in two days.
“We are preparing and hoping to get a temporary bridge at Sorchen in about two days,” Lyonpo Dorji Choden said. She added that the Construction Development Corporation Ltd (CDCL) and the Department of Roads (DoR), along with other agencies, are engaged in getting the bridge erected.
Project DANTAK is also involved in constructing the bridge.
The Tsirang-Sarpang highway has also been cutoff. She said work to reestablish the link will start as soon as the river subsides.
“We can divert the river as soon as the rain stops,” she said. The rain was continuing as of yesterday afternoon. The meteorological division has also forecast heavy rain in Samtse, Sarpang and Phuentsholing for today.
The situation at the Dzongkhalum bridge near Trongsa town has gone from bad to worse. She said the bridge was further damaged yesterday, totally cutting off the road. The Dzongkhalum bridge is located on the Trongsa-Zhemgang highway.
“It will take sometime to get traffic moving on the road,” she said, adding that it is difficult to provide an estimate of by when. There is no alternative route to the bridge. “We will have to find an alternative although it is difficult,” she said.
Lyonpo Dorji Choden said another pillar of the Buduney bridge in Samtse has been damaged making it more difficult to repair the bridge. “We haven’t been able to do much due to continuous rain. We can deploy our machinery as soon as the flood water subsides,” she said. “Works to restore the bridge is not possible unless the rain stops,” she said.
Meanwhile, the minister said no loss of life was reported due to the flood situation as of yesterday. The minister said except for some workshops in Phuentsholing and the makeshift Sarpang town, no major properties were damaged.
Citing hydro-met officials, Lyonpo Dorji Choden said the rain was expected to continue for a few days. One of the major facilities at risk, she said was the water treatment plant in Gelephu.
She said some of the gewog roads have also been blocked. “But efforts are in full swing to clear them all as soon as possible,” she said.
Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay was in Phuentsholing and Sarpang yesterday, while information and communications minister DN Dhungyel was in Samtse to monitor and help the relief efforts.
Home minister Dawa Gyaltshen was also in Phuentsholing.
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