Devastation of Bhutan's Most Famous Trek Route II

I was not aware that the issue was already reported in the Kuensel. One of my readers sent me a link to the Kuensel website where reporter Kinga Dema reports on the matter that was apparently discussed and deliberated upon. And yet, despite all that nothing was done to prevent the systematic destruction of the country’s most beautiful trekking route.

http://www.kuenselonline.com/jomolhari-trek-losing-its-charm/#comments

It is sad.

Why should it be any single agency’s responsibility to endeavor to do the right thing? Why should the onus be on the TCB or the ABTO or the JDNP, to take on the responsibility of ensuring less destructive and harmful ways of doing things? From which planet is BPC that they are exempt from their responsibility to ensure that they play their part in doing whatever they can to protect a national resource that will far outweigh every other consideration?

The Kuensel report says that the BPC went ahead and devastated the country’s most famous trek route because some agency did not come up with Nu.755,126.00 for realignment of the transmission lines. That is rather stupid. Because the question then is: why did they align it in a way that would entail expensive realignment, in the first place? Didn't they have sense enough to know or understand the consequences of their folly?

Gem Tshering the Managing Director of BPC told the Kuensel that BPC is under no liberty to change the right of way as frequently as they pleased. That is a stupid argument. The reason is, whether the right of way is by the trek route or through the wilderness, the transmission corridor will require all the trees falling within the corridor to be felled and cleared. So how has he saved or minimized damage to the vegetation? He also states that he is on a dateline to complete the work by 2017. So what he means is that he would cause millions of dollars of loss to the country - in his rush to complete a project within a set time frame?

Why did he not consider taking the transmission line from Guhisawa to Thombushong to Soe and then over the Bonte-La into Jangothang? There would be less destruction since there is hardly any vegetation on that route. Obviously this will be a longer route - but for the sake of the environment, some additional costs can be considered.

Some one rightly told me few days back: The reason why everything is going wrong in this country is because people who are in the decision making positions are people who lack institutional memory - people with crooked minds and no hearts.