Bhutan's nationwide lockdown, which enters the 11th day today, has brought construction work to a complete halt worrying builders who have deadlines to meet and loans to repay.

The concern now is feeding the idle workers. Expatriate workers who live at the worksite in temporary shelters are paid weekly wages to purchase essentials and vegetables to last for a week.

A private construction company in Paro with 100 foreign workers supplied essential items in bulk twice in the last 10 days. The cost of the essential is borne by the company and excludes the daily wage ranging from Nu 700 to 800.

A construction owner in Thimphu said that his 20 workers at the site had been idle for the last 10 days. He had supplied enough rice and dal for them but the vegetables supplied by the authorities were not sufficient. “Some of them requested me to let them leave as they don’t earn,” he said, adding that for now he had been managing well but the future would depend on the lockdown.

Another owner said that his 10 workers had been adhering to the lockdown protocols and had been giving them cellular data, continuous supply of ration and even beverages. In an enclosed campus, he said the workers had enough space to move unlike those cramped in other construction sites.

https://kuenselonline.com/feeding-the-workforce-rendered-jobless-by-lockdown/