Rinchending (Kharbandi) area in Phuntsholing is besieged by recurrent landslides triggered by intense rainfall, particularly when monsoon is at its peak. With each passing monsoon, the landslides are shifting inwards and increasingly threatening public and private properties. Key institutions, such as the College of Science and Technology (the country’s oldest technical education institute), the Kharbandi Goempa (Buddhist monastery built in 1967), a private school and the Medical Supply Depot are located in this area. Most importantly, the take-off stretch of the 170-km Phuentsholing-Thimphu Highway (PTH) runs through this area. The PTH, built in the early 1960s and widened over the past 10 years to become a part of the Asian Highway, is the lifeline of the country’s economy. It connects Thimphu and many places in the inner region of the country to India, which is Bhutan’s principal trade partner and the only land transit route to other international markets. Furthermore, in Rinchending area, the PTH is connected to the Pasakha road which provides motorable access to Pasakha Industrial Area, the country’s largest industrial estate.
Under the Second National Adaptation Programme of Action (NAPA II) Project, funded by GEF-LDCF and coordinated by the National Environment Commission Secretariat (NECS) in partnership with UNDP, Phuentsholing Thromde is currently conducting detailed geo-technical investigation and engineering design for mitigation of four landslides under Phuentsholing Thromde and flood and watershed management works at Barsachu at Pasakha. The work has been outsourced to a consortium of French (IMSRN) and local (APECS) consultants in March, 2015 for a period of 8 months.
On 24th of July, 2015 the First Technical Advisory Group (TAG) Meeting for landslides and flood mitigation works under Phuentsholing Thromde was held. The TAG was created based on the recommendation and a lesson learnt from implementation of the first NAPA Project, to advise Phuntsholing Thromde on technical aspects. The meeting discussed and agreed on the landslide mitigation options for Rinchending checkpost and Reldri School. The Consultant are expected to submit their final design and estimates for these landslides in August, following which, Phuntsholing Thromde will start the landslides stabilization
For more information, contact;
- Pushkar Chhetri, Communications Analyst, UNDP Bhutan: pushkar.chhetri@undp.org
- Pema Dorji, Project Implementation Analyst, UNDP Bhutan: pema.dorji@undp.org