April 4: Water and power supply to the illegal settlements along the Thimphu-Phuentsholing highway at Gedu have been disconnected. This follows repeated notification by the Chhukha Dzongkhag to the settlers to vacate the area by December last year.

There are about 93 illegal hutments including shops along the Thimphu-Phuentsholing highway in Gedu. Chhukha Dzongkhag issued a notification last year that houses located within 50 feet on either side of the road must be dismantled by the end of the year. The Dzongrab Pema Wangdi said this was done to facilitate the ongoing highway widening works.

According to the Dzongkhag, the houses also fall under the premises of Gedu College of Business Studies due to open sometime this year.

Dzongrab Pema Wangdi told BBS that shopkeepers who obtained business licenses before the establishment of Tala Hydro Power Plant have been allotted land at the new townships at Meritsemo and Laptsakha.

Our reporter Kinzang Yeshey says except for 5 hutments, the rest have moved out. Our reporter says the Dzongkhag administration has disconnected power and water supplies to the houses and seized their business licenses.

The Dzongkhag Administration says their business licenses will not be given back unless they dismantle their hutments. The Dzongkhag administration has further extended the deadline to vacate the area until the April 8.

Some of the residents who spoke to BBS said they will move out once the houses in the new township are connected with water and road. The Dzongkhag Administration says the townships at Meritsemo and Laptshakha are provided with water supply, internal road and even street lights. It says the water supply at Laptshakha town is not adequate since the source itself is small.

The Dzongkhag says the Meritsemo town could not be linked to main highway due to some problems. However, it is working to address the concerns.