July 28: With the opening of the new college in Gedu, the business community members are hoping that their business will grow. Gedu is a wayside town on the Thimphu-Phuentsholing highway. The college which has over 500 students will provide a steady stream of customers.

Business community in Gedu is likely to boost after the start of the new business college.

The new college that formally started this week has 525 students. Then there are the faculty members. This means more customers for the shopkeepers. Initially a lot of issues were raised by shopkeepers when they were asked to shift their shops as it fell into the college areas and the road widening.

Business community members said they will lose customers as the present location is situated further away from the highway unlike the previous location. But the situation has reversed now. The new college will provide a stream of customers which is only going to increase as the college plans to increase the intake over the years. The shopkeepers might not have felt the student customer impact right now because they are yet to know the place. The college itself is yet to complete the final phase of work like repairing water and electricity supply lines.

With frequent road blocks occurring at Jumjaa or Taktikothi, the onlyplace to turn to for shelter or food is Gedu. With hundreds of vehicles getting stranded due to landslides, business transaction in Gedu has increased.

The only hitch is the weather. The college authorities also said one of the main drawbacks of the college is the weather.

Summer means non stop rain and leeches, while winter can be cold. Students especially the girls said they do not venture outside due to the leeches.

However with Gedu lying on the busiest highway in the kingdom had no dearth of customers so far and the business impact of the new college is yet to be seen.