Bhutan National Assembly Polls 2023: Will the people of Chuzergang get a permanent bridge over Mauchhu ever?

The Mauchhu bridge has been mentioned as a priority in all the past elections but this time it has found no mention in any of the 5 political parties’ poll

With just eight days to the primary round of polls for the 4th National Assembly elections in Bhutan, voters have expressed dismay over the failure of the political parties’ ability to deliver on their promises. One such failed promise was to build a permanent bridge over the Mauchhu river connecting Chuzergang with Gelephu.

Gelephu is one of the entry points for people from India to Bhutan.

The Mauchhu bridge has been mentioned as a priority in all the past elections. However, there has been no sign of development till date. This time, with focus changing for the political parties, the bridge failed to find any mention in the pledges of the five contesting parties.

The people of Chuzergang have lost all hope and trust in the politicians and they have taken it upon themselves to build the much important bridge by themselves.

According to a report by Kuensel, a resident of the locality said that this time candidates are cautious about promising to build the bridge as they are concerned that such unrealistic promises could lead to a loss of votes.

With no help from the government in sight, villagers collected locally available materials like bamboo, rocks, and timber and constructed the bridge to the best of their capability last week.

It is not just in the last week that the villagers built the bamboo bridge by themselves. This is an annual ritual of sorts. The villagers build the bridge with bamboo and timber every year and with the onset of monsoon the bridge gets washed away till the villagers again get together to build it post monsoon. Around 100 villagers contribute two-day labour for this annual event.

Now the villagers have given up hope of having a motorable bridge over the Mauchhu river from the elected government.

In December 2019, the Ministry of Works and Human Settlement issued a notification inviting Bhutanese consultancy firms to conduct a detailed survey and come up with a design of the Maochhu bridge. The last government allocated Nu 400 million (approximately Rs 40 crore) for the construction of the bridge in the 12th Plan, which had an estimated cost of Nu 900 million (approximately Rs 90 crore). However, due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, the budget was re-prioritised.

People are uncertain about whether the upcoming government will build a permanent bridge or not. However, with King Jigme Kheshar Namgyal Wangchuck now focusing on developing Gelephu as a mega city, locals are hopeful that a permanent bridge over the Mauchhu river would come up.

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