Background

Wangduephodrang dzongkhag shares borders with Gasa, Punakha, Thimphu, Dagana, Tsirang, Sarpang, Trongsa, and Bumthang Dzongkhags, and occupies an area of approximately 4038 km². The elevation of the dzongkhag ranges from 800m to 5800m above sea level. The summers are moderately hot, whereas most of the areas in the north remain under snow in the wintertime. The average annual rainfall is approximately 1000mm

Agriculture is the most important economic activity in the district. Wangdue town is the principal service centre for the agricultural hinterland. At present this function is provided by the large number of shops selling essential provisions. The establishment of several other activities such as repair workshops, processing and sawmills, also indicates that the economic base of the town is slowly diversifying and broadening to become more than merely an administrative centre in which the majority of the residents are public sector employees. Wangdue Town is also the administrative centre for the district of Wangduephodrang. The town sits on a small flat land atop a high ridge which terminates abruptly at the confluence of the river Dang Chhu and Tsang Chhu.  The East-West Lateral Highway passes through the existing township. In fact, most of the development has occurred in a ribbon fashion alongside the highway, thus taking advantage of passing trade along this important route. The road to Tsirang is also close by. Thus, it can be safely said that Wangdue town lies at the road tri-junction from Thimphu to Tsirang and Trashigang. The town is in close proximity to the Wangdue Dzong, which serves both as the headquarters for the district administration and the residences for the district monks. The Royal Bhutan Army compound occupies a significant portion of the flat land atop the ridge. A junior high school lies sandwiched between the army compound and the existing township.

The existing town center has developed in a linear fashion taking advantage of passing trade along the Lateral Highway which passes right through the centre of the town. In, fact the Lateral Highway is the main street and the only street in the town. The shops have been built right within the Right-of-Way (ROW) of the highway, as suitable land for construction is very limited. A majority of the shops are propped up by long wooden poles from the back of the buildings since the backside of the shops sit overlooking a steep precipice. As a result, the expansion of the highway is not possible under present circumstances. Moreover, the shops lack proper sanitary and water supply arrangements. Most of the toilets are pit latrines built at the back of the shops. In the hot humid summers of Wangduephodrang, these conditions provide easy breeding grounds for numerous contagious diseases.

As far back as 1985 there had been talks of shifting the town to a more suitable location that afforded both the efficient provision of permanent urban infrastructure and  potential for future expansion of the township.  The temporary status of the existing town has meant that shop owners have invested very little in terms of building material quality nor have they followed  fundamental urban planning regulation such as side set backs. This has resulted in a housing typology that is more bago (shack) in nature, constructed entirely out of combustible materials (timber), and built side to side with no space between adjacent shops. As a result, the risk of the town being annihilated in the event of a fire is a clear and present danger which is also a continuing nightmare for the residents of the existing township. Compounding this fear is the location of a fuel station right in the centre of the town. The location of the fuel pump also poses a serious danger to the Wangdue Phodrang Dzong which contain ancients scripts and artifacts. For this reasons, the residents of the township have appealed to the Royal Government to find a suitable location for the establishment of a permanent township for Wangduephodrang.

Feasibility Study of possible sites for New Township

Following the command of the Royal Government to find a suitable site for the establishment of a permanent township for Wangdue, the Department of Urban Development Housing, in close consultation with the Wangduephodrang Dzongkhag officials and the representatives of the local community, conducted a feasibility study of potential sites and assessed them based on the following requirements:

Adequate scope for future expansion

    * Proximity from dzong

    * Slope less than 30%

    * Minimal danger from flooding

    * Efficient provision of infrastructure

Possible sites for the relocation of the township included the following sites:

    * The Royal Bhutan Army Compound

    * Upper and Lower CARD areas

    * Jadokha, above Dragon Nest Resort

    * Rubesa,  across Dang Chhu

    * Rinchengang farmlands

    * Redevelopment of existing town after relocation of fuel station and school

The Royal Bhutan Army compound was considered the best site for the relocation of the existing township in terms of its flat terrain, scope for expansion, and proximity from the dzong and existing Lateral Highway. The next best site was found to be the CARD area with its relatively gentle slopes and good scope for future expansion of the township. The lower CARD area could also accommodate the first phase of the new township development, with the upper CARD area accommodating the second and third phase of the township.

However, the two best sites mentioned above could not be acquired because both the Army and the CARD could not be relocated from their existing areas since both agencies had made considerable capital investments in their respective areas. Moreover, the CARD area had important agricultural trials spanning back more than a decade. The amount of land available at Rubesa was not sufficiently large enough. Moreover, the development of Rubesa required the provision of two significant additional bridges, one each  across the Dang Chhu and the Tsang Chhu to make the town viable. The site at Jadokha was found to be too steep and also access would be difficult to provide because of the slope. The farmlands belonging to the Rinchengang residents along the right bank of the Tsang Chhu does not have the required scope for future expansion. The redevelopment of the existing town to accommodate the growth within the next 5-10 years is possible after the relocation of the school and the fuel station. However, this proposal cannot accommodate future growth of the township and the same problems of congestion, limited expansion scope, etc. that we are facing today would have to addressed again.

After all the efforts, a suitable site had to be yet located for the relocation of Wangdue Township.  The business community and dzongkhag officials of Wangdue, requested the Department of Urban Development and Housing to conduct a feasibility study of the agricultural lands immediately north of the upper CARD area. The area was prime agricultural wetland under private ownership with a relatively flat terrain. Approaches on to the site is  possible from both the road to Shengana and an alternative access from above the CARD area. The first phase of the township could be accommodated within the 15 hectares of land bounded by the upper CARD area to the south, the steep hills to the east, a deep gully, to the north, and the village structures to the west.