The Electrification Work

Courtesy: Namgang Chejey

So the date line is extended yet again? Last time it was 17^th December coinciding with the national day which was extended to March month. Now it is extended to sometime in the month of May. The rural electrification of Serthi and Lauri geog, my humble place is delayed again, thus extending the lives of the community in the hellish darkness for another couple of months. How much people over there will wait? What is going wrong any way?

Already the people have suffered much and I am certain that now even the eagerness, the joy they had once about embracing and welcoming the new world, the joy that their place would now be lighted even during the day must be vanishing. The ease of their life about not having to use the black oven, about not having to collect firewood in stock for all seasons must be getting simmered with such sad news. Perhaps they are now really fed up and frustrated with the false promises.

Yes there are so many problems especially in the part of areas like ours. We have the place where the transmission lines have to cross through the places inhabited by giant elephants. We have to cross the Indian border areas of Assam to get to our place, yet I often doubt and I am skeptic if these are the only problems that are really hampering the work causing the delay of dateline. BPC is an autonomous organization and I do believe with my all heart that they would never incur such heavy losses by delaying such progressive work. At the same time I also believe that there are solutions to any kind of problems. It is in such situations where the interventions the government, by the concerned people and organization is most needed, in turn the cooperation from the community.

As a Zhungka songo as I once wrote about, most of the children who lives in Thimphu or Phuntsholing and other places far from the community we belong think we have little to do with whatever is happening there. We seem to be least bothered and we care less. Everybody talk about bringing their parents to stay with them once they are settled. Who have even thought about tough yet peaceful and quite life we have there? Who would have thought about losing and throwing the good tradition and culture we have? Would we not lose the existence that is so harmonically passed down for generations?

Sometimes this also makes us ponder if what some people said during our honorable member of parliament, Mr. Pelzang’s visit holds true? ‘Soenam mawa meser’ was what the people of our community expressed.  Irrespective of the labor work they contribute, the helping hand they lend in all their capacity and the cooperation in all form they give, be it the farm road construction that is going on in progress, I think our community, our people over there aren’t fortunate enough to embrace such facilities,  the wonder and elites of so-called development. May be we are still surrounded by the seal of the ill fate, perhaps we are still cursed to be in the darkness and that it isn’t the time yet for us and our community. Maybe we are mean to be that way for some more time.

Anyway let us hope that all these hurdles are passed through and that the dreams and aspirations of people be all fulfilled one fine day. But for now patience is all that is needed.