July 14: Road communication between Gelephu and Umling geog in Sarpang has been disrupted due to Monsoon. This means people in the geog walk for hours to reach Gelephu town.

Continuous rainfall makes the three rivers of Thewar, Taklai and Moa to swell leaving the people of Umling and neighbouring geogs with no choice but to walk for hours to get to Gelephu town.

Our reporter Sonam Rinchen says the road remains disrupted during monsoon every year. He said the three rivers of Thewar, Taklai and Mao has swollen due to continuous rains. He added that Umling remains cut off for about half a year.

Umling Gup told BBS that people of Umling and Tarathang geogs use boats to ferry across the river. This he said is risky.

Lack of proper road has also left the villagers with no access to market their produce. Umling is known for production of ginger, beetle nuts and other fruits.

A resident of Umling due the lack of proper road people carry their products on their backs and ferry across the rivers. Ugyen is the Gup of Umling geog.

The Gup however said that an alternative to this annual problem is to construct a proper motorable bridge.