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Bhutan Development |
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Trashigang:
Impact of the urban drift
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Bridge
to benefit 250 households
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Mention
rural urban migration and images of village bumpkins leaving the countryside
in droves for a life in the big city comes to mind.
That
has not quite been the case in Bhutan. If people left the villages it was
usually after completing education and landing a job in place other than
their own village. |
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It
probably started in late 60s when the government, extremely short of human
resources, employed anyone who had some years of schooling. These people
started a new life in a new place.
Villagers
that left the countryside for a life in the city were those taken by city
relatives as domestic help or to look after orchards beyond the municipal
boundaries or for schooling. Some had left to live with their children
working for the government or in the private sector.
This
gradual influx, while filling urban centres with people from every corner
of the country, has resulted in empty houses in the countryside.
In
the urban centres it has meant pressure on basic amenities like housing
and water supply. In the villages it has affected rural development activities.
Take
for example Bidung, a village in Trashigang with about 440 households.
Of this number more than 80 houses have no one living in it and some have
been vacant for over 20 years, say gewog clerk, Kinga Wangdi.
"It
is a problem when there is a need for labour contribution as there should
be a representative from every household. Only those villagers who are
in the village keep working," he said.
He
said that a resolution was drawn up by the Dzongkhag Yargay Tshogdu two
years ago that the households who did not contribute labour should pay
Nu. 1,000 to make up for the unwanted absence. "But that remained just
on paper and was never implemented," he said.
It
also created inconvenience when collecting various taxes and insurance
premium from public.
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Trashigang Town
Kinga
Wangdi said that some of those who had left visited the village once in
three to four years and some had not shown their face for years. "Some
pay taxes through their relatives but many do not pay on time," he said,
adding that it added to the problem because unlike other taxes, revenue
for house and life insurance had to be deposited annually to the government.
A 24 percent fine was levied annually if they failed to pay taxes within
the given deadline. |
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Karsang,
a village tshogpa, said that some of the vacant houses and the land were
almost covered by trees and bushes. This had led to the increase in the
number of wild animals encroaching cultivated areas.
"Although
some have leased out their land to those in the village, most of it, especially
steep unfavourable ones remain fallow," he said, adding that a few of the
houses had been occupied by extension officers. Some of the houses had
also fallen apart without proper renovation.
Meanwhile,
families back in the village had, on several occasions, raised the issue
that it was not fair that they keep contributing labour and taxes while
those who left the village escaped both.
"Even
we have our children in town but we feel it is our responsibility to take
care of our phazhing (ancestral land)," said farmer Tshering Phuntsho.
"We associate our identity with our village but what is the use if you
are not going to take care of your own village," he said. "If a person
is meant to succeed, he can do it anywhere."
Tshogpa
Karsang said that the village would be a better place if people came back
and took care of their possessions. "The government should come up with
strategies to bring them back," he said. "Leaving ones roots is not a good
example for the future generation."
| Contributed
by Kesang Dema, KUENSEL, Bhutan's National Newspaper, 2007 |
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