Bhutan Portal

Tsirang Dzongkhag is located in the south-central part of the country and has an area of 638.3 sq. km. The altitude ranges from 400 to 2,000 meters above sea level. Approximately 58% of the land area is under forest cover comprising mainly of broadleaf and chirpine species while 42% is under agricultural cultivation.

Tsirang Dzongkhag is administratively divided into 12 gewogs namely Beteni, Chanautey, Dunglegang, Gairigaun, Goseling, Kikhorthang, Mendrelgang (Lamidangra), Patale, Phuntenchhu, Semjong, Tshokhana and Tsirang Dangra. Damphu, located in Kikhorthang Gewog, is the main town and the administration center.

The dzongkhag has good development potential. Favorable as well as diverse agro-ecological features provide the dzongkhag with a high potential for the cultivation of many different types of cereal grains as well as horticulture crops. Paddy, maize and millet are the major cereal crops grown while orange, cardamom and vegetables are the principal cash crops. The sale of mandarin and cardamom constitute an important source of income for most of the farmers. Livestock rearing is also an important economic activity contributing to both subsistence consumption and to income of farm households although livestock productivity is limited due to the dominance of livestock population with local cattle.

With the Wangdue-Sarpang highway passing through the dzongkhag and a good internal road as well mule track network, most of the gewogs in the dzongkhag have good transportation links. The dzongkhag benefit from market access to major towns like Gelegphu and Thimphu. The shortage of power supply is, however, a major constraint faced by the dzongkhag. At present, only the households in Damphu Town have electricity connections.

Agriculture and livestock extension services are provided by a RNR Extension center, two Agriculture Extension centers and two Livestock Extension centers. In terms of education facilities, there are a total of six schools – one middle secondary, one lower secondary and four primary schools. The re-opening of many schools during the Ninth Plan is expected to further improve education coverage in the dzongkhag. Health service infrastructure in the dzongkhag consist of a General Hospital in Damphu, three Basic Health Units (BHUs) in Mendrelgang, Tsirang Dangra and Dunglegang Gewogs and three Outreach Clinics (ORCs) in Gairigaun, Semjong and Tshokhana Gewogs. Child immunization coverage is about 98% and other reproductive health care coverage is quite adequate in the dzongkhag. Malaria is one of the common diseases especially in the hotter areas during summer followed by typhoid. As the provision of clean and safe drinking water services have been accorded priority in the past, there exist about 103 schemes in the dzongkhag meeting the requirements of the people.