You are here: Home / 2010 / Archives for February 2010

Bhutan News archive for 18 February 2010

February 18, 2010 - From

International Sources

Chingay Parade 2010 rehearsals in full swing – Channel NewsAsia
The annual Chingay Parade in Singapore will also see six international groups from countries such as Bhutan and Thailand taking part. This year’s parade promises two nights of excitement and glitter especially with international groups showcasing …    [read more]

Latest News – dBusinessNews.com
Edward Kitchen Center at 6:30pm on the following dates: March 30th (Vietnam); April 27th (Democratic Republic of Congo); May 25th (Bhutan). For more information, email guilfordrefugee@gmail.com or call 336-617-0381.    [read more]

Dalai Lama – Obama meeing: Your views – BBC Americas
Tibet’s exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, is due to meet US President Barack Obama at the White House, despite objections from China. The BBC News website has asked people in China and around the world how they view the meeting and whether it …    [read more]

News briefs – Abington Mariner
The next meeting of the High School Building Committee (HSBC) is scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 18 at 7 p.m. in the School Committee conference room at Wayland High School. The agenda includes an energy review and a design review. The community is …    [read more]

India, Myanmar: Reluctant brothers in arms – Asia Times
BANGKOK – Myanmar’s up and down relationship with neighboring India is on the up again with a new commitment for coordinated counter-insurgency operations along their mutual border. While previous promises to tackle armed groups failed in the actual …    [read more]

Bangladesh offered zero-tariff entry to Bhutan – New Nation
All Bangladeshi products will get zero-tariff entry to Bhutan, a preferential trade facility, which is expected to help increase trade and business relations between the two countries. Khandu Wangchuk, minister for economic and trade affairs of …    [read more]

Water security: Politico-economic considerations – New Nation
If we look at the situation we see that the two small mountain states, Nepal and Bhutan, have a disproportionate share of water resources which they could potentially leverage against the hegemonic influence of their larger neighbour, especially …    [read more]

Local mission seeks the big picture – Naples Daily News
The organization works with seven Middle Eastern and South Asian countries and has established more than 2,800 churches in Pakistan, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Nepal and India. “These are places where people can get killed if they’re caught practicing …    [read more]

Putting Pemagatshel on the road map – Kuensel Online
18 February, 2010 – After the first one was built in 2004, farm road construction in Pemagatshel has progressed very slowly. But connectivity and accessibility in the dzongkhag should improve by leaps and bounds, with nine farm roads of a total …    [read more]

Wait for water may soon be over – Kuensel Online
Barshong, Khaling 18 February, 2010 – If cleanliness is next to godliness, the farmers of 68 households in Barshong village, Khaling, say that they’re closer to the devil. “Forget washing clothes, we don’t even have enough water to drink …    [read more]

Kuensel – Bhutan’s National Newspaper

Footfalls decline in cyber cafés
18 February, 2010 – While a majority of Thimphu residents surf the internet in the comfort of their homes, internet cafes are struggling to survive. In the last two years, internet users at home have drastically increased with Bhutan Telecom providing internet packages for as low as Nu 399 a month.

   [read more]

Back To school
Topic Of the week 18 February, 2010 –

Kipchu Dorji
Jakar High School

“ Long vacation are boring boring because we’re left with nothing to do. I like going to school whereas i can spend more time with my friends”
   [read more]

Cabinet approves 1,000-acre land
To be used as an equity grant by DHI in its joint venture to develop a knowledge city

Knowledge City 18 February, 2010 – The cabinet on Tuesday approved a grant of about 1,000 acres of land to Druk holding and investments (DHI) to be used as an equity in the proposal to build a knowledge city in Bhutan with partners from outside.    [read more]

Education, Labour checklists
Education and labour ministers submit their pledges to Lyonchhoen

Performance Compacts 18 February, 2010 – The education and labour ministries signed performance compacts with the prime minister yesterday on 17 key initiatives to be undertaken by 2013, which will bind them to their targets.    [read more]

Dungsam Cement to borrow Nu 4.1 billion
Dungsam Cement 18 February, 2010 – The lhengye zhungtshog (cabinet), after exploring several options, has approved Dungsam cement company limited’s (DCCL) proposal to borrow Nu 4.1 bn domestically and from India to finance the construction of the country’s biggest cement plant.    [read more]

Suspect CGI sheets rejected
A Roof Over One’s Head : It’s a shame to supply helpless victims with spurious goods

Earthquake Relief 18 February, 2010 – A consignment of a particular Indian brand of CGI sheets to roof rebuilt homes in the east devastated by the September earthquake has been temporarily suspended.    [read more]

A tiger in the tank
18 February, 2010 – The tiger has begun its prowl and, going by the events in the past year, the coming period will be very significant in more ways than one.    [read more]

Wait for water may soon be over
Watering Hole: Thanks to the shortage, bathing is a once-a-month affair

Barshong, Khaling 18 February, 2010 – If cleanliness is next to godliness, the farmers of 68 households in Barshong village, Khaling, say that they’re closer to the devil.    [read more]

Putting Pemagatshel on the road map
Increased Connectivity: After years of fits and starts, farm roads in P/Gatshel are really taking off

18 February, 2010 – After the first one was built in 2004, farm road construction in Pemagatshel has progressed very slowly.
But connectivity and accessibility in the dzongkhag should improve by leaps and bounds, with nine farm roads of a total length of more than 117 km to be completed by 2011.    [read more]

Private schools take up the slack
Class XI Admissions 17 February, 2010 – The 13 privately run higher secondary schools around the country will get more admission applications than they can handle, with almost 5,000 students passing the X examination but scoring below 62 percent and failing to qualify for government institutions.    [read more]

Bhutan Observer

This side of ICT age, Jomotsangkha
It is 8 pm. Pem Tshering is eating dinner with his family in Samdrupchol­ing. He receives a call from an Indian mobile number. It is from a student in Jomot­sangkha. “There is no other means of communication so they (students) use an Indian mobile phone service,” he ex­plains.
Among the eight dung­khags along the southern belt, [...]    [read more]

Puran for the King, country and people
 
 An 11-day Shiva Ma­hapuran conducted at Bhairabkunda Shiva Mandir in Jomotsangkha, Samdrup Jongkhar, concludes today, coinciding with Maha Shivaratri. The puran is being performed for the peace and prosperity of the country, and wellbeing of His Majesty the King and people of Bhutan.
The puran is presided over by Pandit Vidyapati Bhandari and Pandit Man Narayan [...]    [read more]

Farmers grudge free labour for bridge construction
The construction of a 220-metre suspension bridge over Sunkosh river to connect Nichula Ge­wog to other villages in Da­gana Dzongkhag is progress­ing at a snail’s pace. The slow progress, according to vil­lagers, is because of labour shortage.
Some 120 households are expected to benefit from the bridge but only 60 house­holds contribute labour, said the villagers. [...]    [read more]

Welcome TATA
Mr Ratan Tata’s inter­est in Bhutan should be highly appreci­ated.
One important area that giant TATA could look into is ropeways/cable cars. Rope­ways, where and for whom? Why? How?
Yes, ropeways from east to west and north to south. For Drukpas and for tourists who want some adventurously beautiful memories. To create jobs, utilize our own electric­ity, [...]    [read more]

Refreshing amusement for kids
A cartoon figure appears on the screen and dances. The player has to move like the figure on the coloured sen­sor floor. If the player follows the instruction and does not miss the moves, he moves to the next level. Otherwise, he is out.
Dance dance regulator/revolution, as the game is called, and other indoor amusements [...]    [read more]

Jersey cows to reduce poverty
Forty-four poor farmers of Ngangla Gewog in Panbang were provided a milking Jersey cow each at a heavily subsidised price through the Rural Livelihood Project in October last year. The farm­ers paid only 30 percent of the cost while the remaining cost was borne by the govern­ment.
The rural livelihood proj­ect, which was aimed at re­ducing [...]    [read more]

25-acre landholding ceiling should stay
It seems that the draft land policy advocates further widening of the rich-poor gap, not the other way round as intended.
The policy proposes that 25-acre land ceiling be re­moved. This will help the rich to own more and buy more which will contribute to further land speculations. In terms of progressive tax, what are the [...]    [read more]

Children’s parks, few and battered
All the four children’s parks in the capital are in a poor shape. Most of the swings and see-saws are broken, slides are worn-out, park lights out of order, and litter is every­where.
Gyeltshen Drukpa, the Chief Environmental Officer of Thimphu City Corporation (TCC), attributes the damage to the attitude of Bhutanese people. He said that, [...]    [read more]

B hutan will shine on the international stage
Ugyen Dorji, 32, is a former Transport United FC skipper and national player. At present, he is an assistant referee and the administrative assistant at Motithang Higher Secondary School in Thimphu. He talks to KARMA PALDEN and TSHERING PENJORE about his experience as a footballer in the country
Q. When did you first start playing football [...]    [read more]


What is the answer to Bhutan’s overflowing landfill sites? Studies show it is recycling and reuse. Metho Dema finds out where a solution to municipal and household waste lies.
After a long day at work, Sonam, a private sector employee, comes home and empties her trash bin into a cardboard box to be dumped late night [...]    [read more]

Bhutan News archive for 17 February 2010

February 17, 2010 - From

International Sources

Still Seeking Refuge – East Bay Express
… regional resettlement director for the International Rescue Committee, who during the past thirty years has helped to resettle refugees from as far afield as Bosnia, Iraq, and Bhutan. “They have more things to learn and more things to accomplish …    [read more]

Text Size – Chicago Tribune
EDMONDS, Wash. — When I was growing up there circa 1960, Edmonds was a quintessential American small town. Within about three blocks we had a bakery, a variety store, a soda fountain, a hardware store and the Princess movie theater, where a Saturday …    [read more]

India likely to share glacier info with China, Pak – Asian Age
… has mooted a proposal to the ministry of external affairs (MEA) and the ministry of defence (MoD) to allow data-sharing on this crucial subject with China, Pakistan, Nepal and Bhutan. The MEA, sources in the DST confirm. has given the green …    [read more]

IRMA placements a big hit, salaries up 20% – Economic Times
AHMEDABAD: Dollar salaries don’t ring too many bells here. An overseas posting could mean the challenge of starting a one-teacher school in a remote Bhutanese village; and Day Zero is the day when you manage to recoup the first Rs 100 you shelled …    [read more]

What You Should Do on Your Holidays in Bhutan – Associated Content
Every visitor to Bhutan will be blown away by its untainted air and the royal scenery, its buildings, its wildlife and history. Bhutan is a Himalayan speck in between the colossal countries of China and India. Bhutan is known for its high peaks and …    [read more]

FM for regional action – The Daily Star
The foreign minister said this when Special Envoy of the Prime Minister of Bhutan and Minister of Economic Affairs Lyonpo Khandu Wangchuk called on her at State … This would greatly facilitate Bhutanese export from eastern part of the country to …    [read more]

Thimpu invites Dhaka to invest in power infra – Bangladesh News 24 hours
Dhaka, Feb 16 (bdnews24.com)—Bhutan has invited Bangladesh to invest in power transmission and distribution equipment, as the Himalayan kingdom looks to greatly expand electricity coverage, the Bhutanese minister for economic affairs said Tuesday …    [read more]

Bhutan to offer zero-tariff benefit – The Daily Star
Bhutan is going to provide duty free access to all goods from Bangladesh, says International Business Forum of Bangladesh (IBFB) in a statement yesterday. Khandu Wangchuk, Bhutanese minister for economic affairs, made the announcement during a …    [read more]

Hasina invited to Thimpu SAARC summit – New Nation
… Himalayan mountain kingdom of Bhutan on April 28-29. Special Envoy of the Bhutanese … Wangchuk on Monday called on the Prime Minister at her official residence Jamuna and handed over the invitation letter from Bhutanese Prime Minister Jigme    [read more]

Lanika Solutions Signs with Breault Research Organization as ASAP … – Newswiretoday.com
NewswireToday – /newswire/ – Bangalore, Karnataka, India, 02/16/2010 – ASAP® is the time-proven industry standard in optical software, which accurately predicts the real-world performance of automotive lighting, bio-optic systems, coherent systems …    [read more]

Kuensel – Bhutan’s National Newspaper

A losar celebration at Lingkana
His Majesty with students and teachers of NID

16 February, 2010 – His Majesty the King celebrated Losar yesterday with 48 students and 14 teachers from the national institute for the disabled, Khaling, at the Lingkana palace. As a Losar soelra, His Majesty also sent the students and teachers on a fully sponsored weeklong study tour to Thailand.
   [read more]

Like it used to be
New Year’s celebrated with a distinctly Bhutanese flavour
Competitive Celebrations: Boys of Pangthang and Ritsangdung take each other on

16 February, 2010 – The bamboo bow is taller than Ugyen, but as the nine-year-old Ugyen draws his bow, there is expectation of a karey (hit) from the other end. “Ana, ana (here, here),” his friends at the other end shout, pointing at the target.
   [read more]

Lafarge keen on Bhutan’s gypsum
Olivier Chaudet, CEO of Lafarge Boral Gypsum, India, with Lyonchhoen in New Delhi on February 13

16 February, 2010 – The government’s mining policy, which is still being finalised, will determine whether Lafarge, a France-based multinational company and Druk Satair corporation ltd., a mining company in eastern Bhutan, can partner to manufacture value-added gypsum products.    [read more]

Selection process for BPH questionable
16 February, 2010 – The six eastern dzongkhags which had the highest number of applicants for the country’s first Bachelors in Public Health (BPH) saw only two selected for it.
   [read more]

BPC plans big
Among others, a project to provide power, cable TV and internet on a single line

16 February, 2010 – The Bhutan power corporation (BPC) is working on a project called ‘BPL’ that aims to provide electricity, cable TV and internet all in the same line.

   [read more]

Bumthang DRC helps improve tax compliance
16 February, 2010 – The opening of a regional revenue and customs office in Bumthang has been a boon for both the department and people of Bumthang and Trongsa.
   [read more]

Liberalise building rules
16 February, 2010 – The national land commission is taking a re-look into many policy aspects of land related issues. Among these is liberalising the minimum plot size requirement both in rural and urban Bhutan.
   [read more]

Infestation spreads through east
Not much was spared – Two Kanglung farmers separate potatoes

16 February, 2010 – Trashigang farmers are busy planting potatoes, their main cash crop. But, with most of their potato seeds infested by a moth, farmers in places like Khaling and Kanglung are worried that there will be not much to reap.
   [read more]

Picture story:

15 February, 2010 – The first sun rise of the new year as seen from the hills of Thimphu yesterday.

Photo: Karma Dupchu
   [read more]

Airtel interested in Bhutan
It’s not size, says Sunil Bharti Mittal, but sentiment that matters
Sunil Mittal with Lyonchhoen in New Delhi

Mobile Phone Service 15 February, 2010 – The government has said that it would give serious thoughts to Bharti Airtel’s proposal to enter the Bhutanese telecom market.

If allowed, it would be the third mobile phone service provider and the first company from outside the country.    [read more]

Bhutan Observer

Farmers grudge free labour for bridge construction
The construction of a 220-metre suspension bridge over Sunkosh river to connect Nichula Ge­wog to other villages in Da­gana Dzongkhag is progress­ing at a snail’s pace. The slow progress, according to vil­lagers, is because of labour shortage.
Some 120 households are expected to benefit from the bridge but only 60 house­holds contribute labour, said the villagers. [...]    [read more]

Welcome TATA
Mr Ratan Tata’s inter­est in Bhutan should be highly appreci­ated.
One important area that giant TATA could look into is ropeways/cable cars. Rope­ways, where and for whom? Why? How?
Yes, ropeways from east to west and north to south. For Drukpas and for tourists who want some adventurously beautiful memories. To create jobs, utilize our own electric­ity, [...]    [read more]

Refreshing amusement for kids
A cartoon figure appears on the screen and dances. The player has to move like the figure on the coloured sen­sor floor. If the player follows the instruction and does not miss the moves, he moves to the next level. Otherwise, he is out.
Dance dance regulator/revolution, as the game is called, and other indoor amusements [...]    [read more]

Jersey cows to reduce poverty
Forty-four poor farmers of Ngangla Gewog in Panbang were provided a milking Jersey cow each at a heavily subsidised price through the Rural Livelihood Project in October last year. The farm­ers paid only 30 percent of the cost while the remaining cost was borne by the govern­ment.
The rural livelihood proj­ect, which was aimed at re­ducing [...]    [read more]

25-acre landholding ceiling should stay
It seems that the draft land policy advocates further widening of the rich-poor gap, not the other way round as intended.
The policy proposes that 25-acre land ceiling be re­moved. This will help the rich to own more and buy more which will contribute to further land speculations. In terms of progressive tax, what are the [...]    [read more]

Children’s parks, few and battered
All the four children’s parks in the capital are in a poor shape. Most of the swings and see-saws are broken, slides are worn-out, park lights out of order, and litter is every­where.
Gyeltshen Drukpa, the Chief Environmental Officer of Thimphu City Corporation (TCC), attributes the damage to the attitude of Bhutanese people. He said that, [...]    [read more]

B hutan will shine on the international stage
Ugyen Dorji, 32, is a former Transport United FC skipper and national player. At present, he is an assistant referee and the administrative assistant at Motithang Higher Secondary School in Thimphu. He talks to KARMA PALDEN and TSHERING PENJORE about his experience as a footballer in the country
Q. When did you first start playing football [...]    [read more]


What is the answer to Bhutan’s overflowing landfill sites? Studies show it is recycling and reuse. Metho Dema finds out where a solution to municipal and household waste lies.
After a long day at work, Sonam, a private sector employee, comes home and empties her trash bin into a cardboard box to be dumped late night [...]    [read more]

Mind your language in business
If language is the key to com­munication, what would hap­pen when a Dzongkha-speak­ing man from western Bhutan sets foot in the Tshangla-speaking east, that too on a business venture?
When Ap Dorji (name changed), a seasoned man­darin businessman, took to the east for the first time, lan­guage barrier came as a big impediment.
After surveying an orchard, [...]    [read more]

Medical practitioners must register
Bhutan Medical and Health Council (BMHC) under the Ministry of Health has rec­ognised various medical col­leges and institutes in the South-east Asian region. Six institutes in Thailand, four in Sri Lanka, two in Myanmar, 42 in Bangladesh, and 282 in India have been recogn­ised under section 10 A of the Health Act.
The recognised institutes are [...]    [read more]

Bhutan News archive for 16 February 2010

February 16, 2010 - From

International Sources

A losar celebration at Lingkana – Kuensel Online
A class eight student, Jigme Namgyel, was a monk in Tamzhing dratshang, Bumthang, when he lost his sight at the age of 18. He then joined NID to continue his education. He is also a good singer and composed about 25 Bhutanese songs. “    [read more]

Lafarge keen on Bhutan’s gypsum – Kuensel Online
16 February, 2010 – The government’s mining policy, which is still being finalised, will determine whether Lafarge, a France-based multinational company and Druk Satair corporation ltd., a mining company in eastern Bhutan, can partner to …    [read more]

Thumbs up for MC Budget – Tribune
The Rs 791-crore budget presented before the General House of the Ludhiana Municipal Corporation was passed today amid peaceful discussions and suggestions during an hour-long session. SAD councillors give nod to the MC Budget in Ludhiana. Photo …    [read more]

CIL chairman conferred HR award – Hindu Business Line
Mr Partha S. Bhattacharyya, Chairman, Coal India Ltd, was conferred with ‘CEO with HR Orientation’ award by the Council of World HRD Congress during the Global HR Excellence Awards Ceremony 2010 in Mumbai on February 12, according to a CIL release …    [read more]

Airtel interested in Bhutan – Kuensel Online
Mobile Phone Service 15 February, 2010 – The government has said that it would give serious thoughts to Bharti Airtel’s proposal to enter the Bhutanese telecom market. If allowed, it would be the third mobile phone service provider and the first …    [read more]

A unified South Asian economy – The Daily Star
SOUTH Asia is the only region of the world that has our unique historical background. People in this region used to share the diversified products among themselves for centuries. Statistics showed that intra-regional trade among the Saarc nations was …    [read more]

Bhutan – Telecoms, Mobile and Internet – TMCnet
In less than 6 years Bhutan has moved from having no mobile phones to claiming in excess of 50% mobile penetration. In 2008 the annual growth in mobile subscribers was close to 100%. It was not always like this. Bhutan had been isolated from the rest …    [read more]

Rotaract brings collegians closer – Daily News and Analysis
While Rotasia their annual event, unites rotaractors from countries like Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Bhutan etc. Model United Nations and celebrations of days like the World Responsible Youth Day bring rotaractors together to spread …    [read more]

Lanika Solutions Signs with Breault Research Organization (BRO) as … – PRLog (free press release)
… the company has joined BRO’s software representative network and is now the point of contact for ASAP clients and prospects in India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, and Bhutan. Based in India, Lanika Solutions distributes premier …    [read more]

Arunachal Pradesh: Insurgent Overflows – New Kerala
Sandipani Dash, South Asia Intelligence Review: Arunachal Pradesh — one of India’s most critical frontiers, along China’s Tibet region — remains at the receiving end of a spillover of insurgencies from the rest of the country’s troubled …    [read more]

Kuensel – Bhutan’s National Newspaper

A losar celebration at Lingkana
His Majesty with students and teachers of NID

16 February, 2010 – His Majesty the King celebrated Losar yesterday with 48 students and 14 teachers from the national institute for the disabled, Khaling, at the Lingkana palace. As a Losar soelra, His Majesty also sent the students and teachers on a fully sponsored weeklong study tour to Thailand.
   [read more]

Like it used to be
New Year’s celebrated with a distinctly Bhutanese flavour
Competitive Celebrations: Boys of Pangthang and Ritsangdung take each other on

16 February, 2010 – The bamboo bow is taller than Ugyen, but as the nine-year-old Ugyen draws his bow, there is expectation of a karey (hit) from the other end. “Ana, ana (here, here),” his friends at the other end shout, pointing at the target.
   [read more]

Lafarge keen on Bhutan’s gypsum
Olivier Chaudet, CEO of Lafarge Boral Gypsum, India, with Lyonchhoen in New Delhi on February 13

16 February, 2010 – The government’s mining policy, which is still being finalised, will determine whether Lafarge, a France-based multinational company and Druk Satair corporation ltd., a mining company in eastern Bhutan, can partner to manufacture value-added gypsum products.    [read more]

Selection process for BPH questionable
16 February, 2010 – The six eastern dzongkhags which had the highest number of applicants for the country’s first Bachelors in Public Health (BPH) saw only two selected for it.
   [read more]

BPC plans big
Among others, a project to provide power, cable TV and internet on a single line

16 February, 2010 – The Bhutan power corporation (BPC) is working on a project called ‘BPL’ that aims to provide electricity, cable TV and internet all in the same line.

   [read more]

Bumthang DRC helps improve tax compliance
16 February, 2010 – The opening of a regional revenue and customs office in Bumthang has been a boon for both the department and people of Bumthang and Trongsa.
   [read more]

Liberalise building rules
16 February, 2010 – The national land commission is taking a re-look into many policy aspects of land related issues. Among these is liberalising the minimum plot size requirement both in rural and urban Bhutan.
   [read more]

Infestation spreads through east
Not much was spared – Two Kanglung farmers separate potatoes

16 February, 2010 – Trashigang farmers are busy planting potatoes, their main cash crop. But, with most of their potato seeds infested by a moth, farmers in places like Khaling and Kanglung are worried that there will be not much to reap.
   [read more]

Picture story:

15 February, 2010 – The first sun rise of the new year as seen from the hills of Thimphu yesterday.

Photo: Karma Dupchu
   [read more]

Airtel interested in Bhutan
It’s not size, says Sunil Bharti Mittal, but sentiment that matters
Sunil Mittal with Lyonchhoen in New Delhi

Mobile Phone Service 15 February, 2010 – The government has said that it would give serious thoughts to Bharti Airtel’s proposal to enter the Bhutanese telecom market.

If allowed, it would be the third mobile phone service provider and the first company from outside the country.    [read more]

Bhutan Observer

Refreshing amusement for kids
A cartoon figure appears on the screen and dances. The player has to move like the figure on the coloured sen­sor floor. If the player follows the instruction and does not miss the moves, he moves to the next level. Otherwise, he is out.
Dance dance regulator/revolution, as the game is called, and other indoor amusements [...]    [read more]

Jersey cows to reduce poverty
Forty-four poor farmers of Ngangla Gewog in Panbang were provided a milking Jersey cow each at a heavily subsidised price through the Rural Livelihood Project in October last year. The farm­ers paid only 30 percent of the cost while the remaining cost was borne by the govern­ment.
The rural livelihood proj­ect, which was aimed at re­ducing [...]    [read more]

25-acre landholding ceiling should stay
It seems that the draft land policy advocates further widening of the rich-poor gap, not the other way round as intended.
The policy proposes that 25-acre land ceiling be re­moved. This will help the rich to own more and buy more which will contribute to further land speculations. In terms of progressive tax, what are the [...]    [read more]

Children’s parks, few and battered
All the four children’s parks in the capital are in a poor shape. Most of the swings and see-saws are broken, slides are worn-out, park lights out of order, and litter is every­where.
Gyeltshen Drukpa, the Chief Environmental Officer of Thimphu City Corporation (TCC), attributes the damage to the attitude of Bhutanese people. He said that, [...]    [read more]

B hutan will shine on the international stage
Ugyen Dorji, 32, is a former Transport United FC skipper and national player. At present, he is an assistant referee and the administrative assistant at Motithang Higher Secondary School in Thimphu. He talks to KARMA PALDEN and TSHERING PENJORE about his experience as a footballer in the country
Q. When did you first start playing football [...]    [read more]


What is the answer to Bhutan’s overflowing landfill sites? Studies show it is recycling and reuse. Metho Dema finds out where a solution to municipal and household waste lies.
After a long day at work, Sonam, a private sector employee, comes home and empties her trash bin into a cardboard box to be dumped late night [...]    [read more]

Mind your language in business
If language is the key to com­munication, what would hap­pen when a Dzongkha-speak­ing man from western Bhutan sets foot in the Tshangla-speaking east, that too on a business venture?
When Ap Dorji (name changed), a seasoned man­darin businessman, took to the east for the first time, lan­guage barrier came as a big impediment.
After surveying an orchard, [...]    [read more]

Medical practitioners must register
Bhutan Medical and Health Council (BMHC) under the Ministry of Health has rec­ognised various medical col­leges and institutes in the South-east Asian region. Six institutes in Thailand, four in Sri Lanka, two in Myanmar, 42 in Bangladesh, and 282 in India have been recogn­ised under section 10 A of the Health Act.
The recognised institutes are [...]    [read more]

Making dancing a profession
Talk about dancing, and he has every conceivable move. Dressed like a Korean with yellowish hair, 17-year-old Pema Wangchuk is not a pro­fessional dancer but he is amazingly good at it.
Pema has participated in numerous dance competitions in the country and bagged the first prize every time he par­ticipated. The latest feather in his cap [...]    [read more]

Class X results declared
Click here to check class X results
The 2009 class X BCSC examinations results are out today. The cut off point for admission to class XI in government schools is 62 percent.

   [read more]

Bhutan News archive for 15 February 2010

February 15, 2010 - From

International Sources

UNESCO to strengthen support – Kuensel Online
15 February, 2010 – UNESCO will consolidate its collaboration and support to the Bhutanese education system, says the newly elected director and United Nations education, science and cultural organisation (UNESCO) representative to Bhutan, Armoogum …    [read more]

Big cats in small numbers – Kuensel Online
15 February, 2010 – The tiger mount (reproduction of a dead tiger) unveiled at the clock tower square on Saturday could be indicative of the future of tigers in Bhutan if left unprotected. The otherwise magnificent predator looked weak and starved, a …    [read more]

Hockey League Results – Post-Star
Full Moon: Ed Walkup 4G, 2A, Rich McQueen 4G,1A, Kelly Murphy 1G, 4A, Billy Rochefort 2G, 2A, Neil Rotman and Dean Moore 3A, Nick Parente 2A, Nick Vamvalis and Steve Young 1A, Dave Bengle 35 Saves. Rozell Industries: Matt Brynes 4G, Don Ostrom 2A …    [read more]

Why we need Valentine’s Day even more this year – Vancouver Sun
February 14 is always a special day for people in the West, marking as it does the feast of St. Valentine. Valentine’s Day has become much more than a religious observance however, and takes on special meaning for lovers and those looking for love …    [read more]

Tibetans go on pilgrimages to mark New Year’s Day – People’s Daily Online
Tens of thousands of Tibetans, dressed in traditional costumes, made pilgrimages to temples to pray for a peaceful and prosperous new year on Sunday, the first day of their traditional New Year. The Year of the Iron Tiger in the Tibetan calendar …    [read more]

Roundup: WWF Nepal launches Year of Tiger campaign – Investors Business Daily
KATHMANDU, Feb 14, 2010 (Xinhua via COMTEX) — As China enters to the New Year of Tiger on Sunday, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) in Nepal has announced to observe 2010 as the “Year of the Tiger, the Year for Action” to conserve tigers worldwide …    [read more]

Research and Markets: North-Eastern Indiastat e-Yearbook 2010 – Businesswire.com
North Eastern States of India, also known as land of seven sisters, are of great strategic importance to India, because of the terrain of the area. The boundaries of the states, within the region, run along the borders of China, Tibet, Bhutan …    [read more]

‘Snowmaggedon’ in Washington spurs climate change doubters – Los Angeles Times Blogs
Mark Twain had it right: Climate is what we expect; weather is what we get. So, is the massive dumping of snow from the Mid-Atlantic to New England proof positive that climate change is untrue, as doubters such as Sen. James Imhofe (R-Okla.) have …    [read more]

BHEL bags Rs 1,000 crore order from Bhutan – Top News India
Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL), India’s largest engineering and manufacturing enterprise, has bagged new order from Bhutan. BHEL manufactures more than 180 products under 30 major product groups. The company caters to core sectors of the …    [read more]

What Business Leaders Can Learn From Bhutan – Huffingtonpost.com
Having spent the past 32 years in the Silicon Valley/Bay Area region, I guess I’ve grown accustomed to start-ups wreaking havoc in mature industries. Hewlett-Packard, Apple, Google, Facebook — they all were launched within a 15-mile radius of my …    [read more]

Kuensel – Bhutan’s National Newspaper

Picture story:

15 February, 2010 – The first sun rise of the new year as seen from the hills of Thimphu yesterday.

Photo: Karma Dupchu
   [read more]

Airtel interested in Bhutan
It’s not size, says Sunil Bharti Mittal, but sentiment that matters
Sunil Mittal with Lyonchhoen in New Delhi

Mobile Phone Service 15 February, 2010 – The government has said that it would give serious thoughts to Bharti Airtel’s proposal to enter the Bhutanese telecom market.

If allowed, it would be the third mobile phone service provider and the first company from outside the country.    [read more]

(De)laying transmission lines
Decision on wire to be used defers work for six months

Punatsangchhu I Project 15 February, 2010 – The laying of 210 km of transmission lines at a cost of Nu 7.7 bn for the Punatsangchhu I project has been delayed by six months because of uncertainty on the technology of wires to be used.    [read more]

People make up national wealth: PM
World HRD Congress 15 February, 2010 – The wealth of a nation is neither its economic strength nor its natural resources but its people, what economists call “human capital”, therefore, the need to invest in human resources.    [read more]

A new beginning … again
15 February, 2010 – Happy Losar!

The year of the tiger has begun and special meals, khuru and archery contests and other festivities are the order of the day all across the Bhutanese landscape.    [read more]

Big cats in small numbers
Unbridled development activities have led to dwindling tiger numbers
Future Imperfect: The mounted tiger reflects the plight of the living equivalent in the wild

15 February, 2010 – The tiger mount (reproduction of a dead tiger) unveiled at the clock tower square on Saturday could be indicative of the future of tigers in Bhutan if left unprotected.    [read more]

UNESCO to strengthen support
New director’s visit covers a wide range of issues for future collaboration
UNESCO director Armoogum Parsuramen

15 February, 2010 – UNESCO will consolidate its collaboration and support to the Bhutanese education system, says the newly elected director and United Nations education, science and cultural organisation (UNESCO) representative to Bhutan, Armoogum Parsuramen.    [read more]

Then & Now – From Miss Thimphu to Miss Bhutan

14 February, 2010 – It was in the early ‘80s when Bhutan first started its own small beauty contest for women and awarded titles to them, a tradition apparently typical of American society, where it originated as early as the ‘50s.
   [read more]

Celebrating love or commercialising it?

14 February, 2010 – It’s often said that, when people fall in love, all differences dissolve, be they religious, class or race. This will be reflected on February 14, when lovers world over express their feelings through exchange of gifts, cards and confectionaries.    [read more]

Textese – The latest assault on the English language?
The jury is out on whether mobile abbreviations are acceptable


7 February, 2010 –
“
I was shocked,” said Rinchen, on coming across textese in royal civil service examination (RCSE) papers. Textese is a term used to describe the abbreviations and slang, like ‘u’ instead of ‘you’ or ‘lol’ for ‘laugh out loud’, usually used for text or instant messaging.
   [read more]

Bhutan Observer

Jersey cows to reduce poverty
Forty-four poor farmers of Ngangla Gewog in Panbang were provided a milking Jersey cow each at a heavily subsidised price through the Rural Livelihood Project in October last year. The farm­ers paid only 30 percent of the cost while the remaining cost was borne by the govern­ment.
The rural livelihood proj­ect, which was aimed at re­ducing [...]    [read more]

25-acre landholding ceiling should stay
It seems that the draft land policy advocates further widening of the rich-poor gap, not the other way round as intended.
The policy proposes that 25-acre land ceiling be re­moved. This will help the rich to own more and buy more which will contribute to further land speculations. In terms of progressive tax, what are the [...]    [read more]

Children’s parks, few and battered
All the four children’s parks in the capital are in a poor shape. Most of the swings and see-saws are broken, slides are worn-out, park lights out of order, and litter is every­where.
Gyeltshen Drukpa, the Chief Environmental Officer of Thimphu City Corporation (TCC), attributes the damage to the attitude of Bhutanese people. He said that, [...]    [read more]

B hutan will shine on the international stage
Ugyen Dorji, 32, is a former Transport United FC skipper and national player. At present, he is an assistant referee and the administrative assistant at Motithang Higher Secondary School in Thimphu. He talks to KARMA PALDEN and TSHERING PENJORE about his experience as a footballer in the country
Q. When did you first start playing football [...]    [read more]


What is the answer to Bhutan’s overflowing landfill sites? Studies show it is recycling and reuse. Metho Dema finds out where a solution to municipal and household waste lies.
After a long day at work, Sonam, a private sector employee, comes home and empties her trash bin into a cardboard box to be dumped late night [...]    [read more]

Mind your language in business
If language is the key to com­munication, what would hap­pen when a Dzongkha-speak­ing man from western Bhutan sets foot in the Tshangla-speaking east, that too on a business venture?
When Ap Dorji (name changed), a seasoned man­darin businessman, took to the east for the first time, lan­guage barrier came as a big impediment.
After surveying an orchard, [...]    [read more]

Medical practitioners must register
Bhutan Medical and Health Council (BMHC) under the Ministry of Health has rec­ognised various medical col­leges and institutes in the South-east Asian region. Six institutes in Thailand, four in Sri Lanka, two in Myanmar, 42 in Bangladesh, and 282 in India have been recogn­ised under section 10 A of the Health Act.
The recognised institutes are [...]    [read more]

Making dancing a profession
Talk about dancing, and he has every conceivable move. Dressed like a Korean with yellowish hair, 17-year-old Pema Wangchuk is not a pro­fessional dancer but he is amazingly good at it.
Pema has participated in numerous dance competitions in the country and bagged the first prize every time he par­ticipated. The latest feather in his cap [...]    [read more]

Class X results declared
Click here to check class X results
The 2009 class X BCSC examinations results are out today. The cut off point for admission to class XI in government schools is 62 percent.

   [read more]

Does landholding need a cap?
If the draft national land policy, which removes the maximum landholding ceil­ing of 25 acres, is adopted, it will widen the gap between the haves and have-nots, say most members of the public.
The draft policy says that the ceiling will be lifted to en­courage commercial farming and large-scale development with progressive taxation on large landholdings [...]    [read more]

Bhutan News archive for 14 February 2010

February 14, 2010 - From

International Sources

Students from SAARC countries to pay less fee in universities – Hindustan Times
The decision will immensely benefit the aspiring students from Afghanistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Maldives. These students have been paying higher fee compared to their Indian counterparts. In IITs, they pay USD 1000 (Rs …    [read more]

‘Devdas’, now on small screen – Press Trust of India
Giving a touch of modernity to the eternal love affair between Paro and Devdas, the serial will also keep the emotions and Bengali nuances of the novel intact. “We are inspired by Sarat Chandra’s novel but our serial is not a period piece.    [read more]

Cycling in Bhutan is a magical adventure – Vancouver Sun
The grin on my face is as wide as the Bhutanese suspension bridge I’m flying across is long. And it defies all logic. I’m terrified of heights and way out of my comfort zone. But I’m cycling in Bhutan, the Land of the Thunder Dragon, a wonderful …    [read more]

NALCO bags award for innovative practices – Thaindian.com
Bhubaneswar, Feb 13 (IANS) State-run National Aluminium Co (NALCO) has bagged a prestigious award for innovative human resource practices, the company said Saturday. The state enterprise has bagged the ‘Organization with Innovative Human Resource …    [read more]

Dhaka seeks help for rail, river projects – The Daily Star
Saying that her government has a plan to build a deep sea port in Chittagong, the prime minister observed that by using the sea port, neighbouring countries including India, Nepal and Bhutan will be highly benefited. The Alliance of Civilization …    [read more]

Secret of the world’s ‘most successful’ refugees, the Tibetan … – Daily News and Analysis
Mumbai: Today is Losar once again. In fact, it is a golden jubilee of sorts — of 50 years in exile. But Tibetans are not celebrating. The pall of gloom of the 2008 riots still hangs over the community, and the government-in-exile or the Central …    [read more]

Mercury News interview: Meera Shankar, India’s Ambassador to the … – San Jose Mercury News
Silicon Valley companies, from start-ups to multinational behemoths, view India as a critical ally for their business development and an important growing market for their products. As the world’s largest democracy, the South Asian nation plays a …    [read more]

Audience open to sexual experience in movies, say film-makers – Daily News and Analysis
Krishna, though, has other plans. She pulls him back towards herself, and the two share a kiss that grows into a full-blown makeout session. They rip each other’s clothes off and tumble in a passionate heap. The fact that this is a forbidden …    [read more]

South Asian documentary fest stresses on human rights – The Gaea Times
DHAKA – “Afghan Girls Can Kick”, a film on girls playing football in conflict-torn Afghanistan, drew loud applause from cine lovers at a three-day documentary film festival that ended here Saturday. The film by Baharei Husseini was part of the …    [read more]

Why we – Valentine’s Day even more this year – Vancouver Sun
February 14 is always a special day for people in the West, marking as it does the feast of St. Valentine. Valentine’s Day has become much more than a religious observance however, and takes on special meaning for lovers and those looking for love …    [read more]

Kuensel – Bhutan’s National Newspaper

Convict at large

13 February, 2010 –
A prisoner from the Thimphu district jail escaped on February 11, while being treated at the Thimphu national referral hospital.

   [read more]

The Year That Was
Year ender 13 February, 2010 –
It’s hard to say if any Bhutanese paid heed to the predictions of the institute of astrology in Pangrizampa, which had said that there would be grim periods during the year of the Ox – food insecurity, drought and slow economic growth.
   [read more]

What’s in store
Year ender 13 February, 2010 –
Iron Male Tiger Year

There will be peace and harmony in the country in the Iron Male Tiger Year, predicts the datho (astrological calendar) released by the institute of astrology
in Pangrizampa, Thimphu.
   [read more]

‘Home work’ hones management skills
Help Yourself: Eight such hostels will be erected at a cost of Nu 74 mn by this June

Self Catering Hostels 13 February, 2010 –

Besides usual academic learning, one of the preferred measures of teaching students practical management skills was by allowing students to care for themselves.
   [read more]

Seven years apiece for two main accused
Of the 15 defendants, five were acquitted

Samtse Mining Case 13 February, 2010 –

The former mining head and national resource development corporation limited (NRDCL) managing director, Sangay Gyaltshen, has been sentenced to seven years and three months in prison in the fraudulent lease and illegal mining case in Samtse.
   [read more]

Toppers from out of Thimphu
BCSE Exam Results 13 February, 2010 –

Unlike previous years where Thimphu students took the top spots, six students from five different dzongkhags have secured the top three positions of the 2009 class X Bhutan certificate of secondary education (BCSE) examinations that was declared online yesterday.    [read more]

Kuensel’s annual mea culpa

Year ender 13 February, 2010 – As a newspaper that pioneered print journalism in the country, we are quick to leap at the least opportunity to point out flaws and bash the government, corporate or private sector.    [read more]

Hard lessons of a soft touch
Kuensel taken for a ride


Year ender 13 February, 2010 –

On the rainy afternoon of September 10, 2009, a man dragged himself forward with his hands through the gate leading to the Kuensel office in Thimphu. He was soaked, his dreamy eyes, etched within his dark sun-tanned face, staring right through his folded hands in a plea for help to those who passed by.    [read more]

Intel donates 200 laptops to Bhutanese schools
One Laptop Per Child 13 February, 2010 –

Intel, the multinational corporation that manufactures central processing units (CPU) or microprocessors, will donate 200 laptops for Bhutanese schools.
   [read more]

Indian tour operators interested in Bhutan
At the fair in Mumbai

13 February, 2010 – In what is known to be India’s largest tourism fair network, Bhutan was among the more than 50 countries participating in the fair held in Mumbai, which drew 186,000 visitors from February 6-8.
   [read more]

Bhutan Observer

Children’s parks, few and battered
All the four children’s parks in the capital are in a poor shape. Most of the swings and see-saws are broken, slides are worn-out, park lights out of order, and litter is every­where.
Gyeltshen Drukpa, the Chief Environmental Officer of Thimphu City Corporation (TCC), attributes the damage to the attitude of Bhutanese people. He said that, [...]    [read more]

B hutan will shine on the international stage
Ugyen Dorji, 32, is a former Transport United FC skipper and national player. At present, he is an assistant referee and the administrative assistant at Motithang Higher Secondary School in Thimphu. He talks to KARMA PALDEN and TSHERING PENJORE about his experience as a footballer in the country
Q. When did you first start playing football [...]    [read more]


What is the answer to Bhutan’s overflowing landfill sites? Studies show it is recycling and reuse. Metho Dema finds out where a solution to municipal and household waste lies.
After a long day at work, Sonam, a private sector employee, comes home and empties her trash bin into a cardboard box to be dumped late night [...]    [read more]

Mind your language in business
If language is the key to com­munication, what would hap­pen when a Dzongkha-speak­ing man from western Bhutan sets foot in the Tshangla-speaking east, that too on a business venture?
When Ap Dorji (name changed), a seasoned man­darin businessman, took to the east for the first time, lan­guage barrier came as a big impediment.
After surveying an orchard, [...]    [read more]

Medical practitioners must register
Bhutan Medical and Health Council (BMHC) under the Ministry of Health has rec­ognised various medical col­leges and institutes in the South-east Asian region. Six institutes in Thailand, four in Sri Lanka, two in Myanmar, 42 in Bangladesh, and 282 in India have been recogn­ised under section 10 A of the Health Act.
The recognised institutes are [...]    [read more]

Making dancing a profession
Talk about dancing, and he has every conceivable move. Dressed like a Korean with yellowish hair, 17-year-old Pema Wangchuk is not a pro­fessional dancer but he is amazingly good at it.
Pema has participated in numerous dance competitions in the country and bagged the first prize every time he par­ticipated. The latest feather in his cap [...]    [read more]

Class X results declared
Click here to check class X results
The 2009 class X BCSC examinations results are out today. The cut off point for admission to class XI in government schools is 62 percent.

   [read more]

Does landholding need a cap?
If the draft national land policy, which removes the maximum landholding ceil­ing of 25 acres, is adopted, it will widen the gap between the haves and have-nots, say most members of the public.
The draft policy says that the ceiling will be lifted to en­courage commercial farming and large-scale development with progressive taxation on large landholdings [...]    [read more]

New call centre opens
A new call centre, Bright life Institute of Management, at Peyling Complex in Thimphu was inaugurated yesterday.
A franchise of Orion CALLTECH in India, the in­stitute targets to train about 25,000 to 30,000 university graduates and class XII passed students in various courses in two years.
The centre offers Diploma in BPO Management (DIBM) and complete course [...]    [read more]


Wai! The Bhutanese entertainment industry is entertaining the public, indeed. Unlike other music shows that capture only a certain section of the so­ciety, the ongoing Druk Star singing contest is enter­taining music lovers of all kinds – zhungdra, boedra and rigsar aficionados; MTV-loving youth, middle-aged bathroom singers, and soulful zhungdra sing­ers.
The template of Druk Star [...]    [read more]

Bhutan News archive for 13 February 2010

February 13, 2010 - From

International Sources

Why we – Valentine’s Day even more this year – Vancouver Sun
February 14 is always a special day for people in the West, marking as it does the feast of St. Valentine. Valentine’s Day has become much more than a religious observance however, and takes on special meaning for lovers and those looking for love …    [read more]

Baruah trying to derail peace talks with ULFA: Gogoi – Express India
‘Kishenji ignoring interests of tribals’ 26/11 accused Fahim Ansari’s lawyer Shah… US national detained after 4” blade fou… Guwahati ULFA’s self-styled commander-in-chief Paresh Baruah is trying to regroup the cadre to derail the peace process …    [read more]

Things that make Mauritians really happy – L’Express
If you studied the social sciences, you may remember Maslow’s hierarchy of human needs. These range from food, water, sleep and shelter to having a job, family, friends and an iPhone GS3. Oh, there is sex, of course. Everyone’s favourite. Going …    [read more]

Paresh Baruah trying to derail peace talks with Ulfa: Assam CM – Daily News and Analysis
“Paresh Baruah, with a handful of his supporters, is trying to regroup the residual cadre for a showdown in the coming days apparently to derail the peace process which seems to be in the offing with the arrest of many top leaders,” Gogoi said here …    [read more]

More federal aid for refugees is needed – Concord Monitor
The bulk of the refugees have been Bhutanese, who have spent as much as 16 years in camps in Nepal as a result of ethnic cleansing in Bhutan, a small nation that borders India, China and Tibet. Refugees are settled in, and choose to migrate to …    [read more]

The Year of the (threatened) Tiger – AsiaOne
As we welcome the Year of the Tiger, the new year is not about roaring celebration. It instead calls for more conservation actions. Among the 13 tiger range countries in the world, Bhutan, which is best known for its conservation policies, is …    [read more]

Darjeeling zoo plans to exchange red pandas with foreign zoos – Hindu
KOLKATA: An exchange of red pandas between the Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park at Darjeeling and zoos in Australia and New Zealand is on the cards, to improve the bloodline of the arboreal animals in the Darjeeling zoo’s captive breeding …    [read more]

Rapists of 60-year-old sentenced – AsiaOne
… shameful, cruel and inhuman act portray women in terms that conflict with the image of women as competent and equal individuals guaranteed by the Constitution and other laws of Bhutan,? it stated. ?The law must not allow innocent lives to be …    [read more]

Motorbiking across Bhutan – The Guardian
Just a few miles from Paro, with its delicate features perched precariously on a narrow stone ledge some 700 metres above the valley floor, this is Bhutan’s most popular tourist destination … weather closed in as we climbed a pass and low cloud …    [read more]

Pakistan to raise all core issues with India on 25th – Daily Times
… talks, and there was a possibility of another such session ahead of a meeting between the two countries’ prime ministers on the sidelines of the SAARC summit on April 28-29 in Bhutan. “This is the first step towards a more comprehensive …    [read more]

Kuensel – Bhutan’s National Newspaper

Kuensel’s annual mea culpa

Year ender 13 February, 2010 – As a newspaper that pioneered print journalism in the country, we are quick to leap at the least opportunity to point out flaws and bash the government, corporate or private sector.    [read more]

Hard lessons of a soft touch
Kuensel taken for a ride


Year ender 13 February, 2010 –

On the rainy afternoon of September 10, 2009, a man dragged himself forward with his hands through the gate leading to the Kuensel office in Thimphu. He was soaked, his dreamy eyes, etched within his dark sun-tanned face, staring right through his folded hands in a plea for help to those who passed by.    [read more]

Intel donates 200 laptops to Bhutanese schools
One Laptop Per Child 13 February, 2010 –

Intel, the multinational corporation that manufactures central processing units (CPU) or microprocessors, will donate 200 laptops for Bhutanese schools.
   [read more]

Indian tour operators interested in Bhutan
At the fair in Mumbai

13 February, 2010 – In what is known to be India’s largest tourism fair network, Bhutan was among the more than 50 countries participating in the fair held in Mumbai, which drew 186,000 visitors from February 6-8.
   [read more]

Good-bye Ox, Hullo Tiger!
13 February, 2010 – As we close the doors on the year of the Ox, it is with great relief that we put behind a year full of events, which brought the astrological predictions too vividly alive. The astrology didn’t predict earthquakes, fire, flood or windstorm, but it said that there would be grim periods.
   [read more]

class X results: 62 % cut off point
Breaking News 12 February, 2010 –

Karma Tenzin of Gomtu MSS , Samtse toped the BCSE examination 2009 with 91.40 percent. The cut off point for admission to class XI in government schools has been fixed at 62 percent. Only 3,695 students will make it to class XI in government schools.    [read more]

Axed in the new VTI curriculum
Construction Service Centre 12 February, 2010 – Almost a decade since its establishment to produce a skilled workforce for the country, labour ministry’s construction service centre (CSC), the erstwhile construction training centre, is closing down.

   [read more]

Picture story

12 February, 2010 – Ambassador of Switzerland to Bhutan, Philippe Welti, hands over the ceremonial key to the buildings at the Paro college of education, constructed by the Swiss agency for development and corporation (SDC), to the vice chancellor, royal university of Bhutan, Dasho (Dr) Pema Thinley. Looking on is Helvetas project manager, Werner Christen
   [read more]

2013 – Two doctors per dzongkhag
Bhutan still needs 79 doctors to be in a “comfortable” situation

12 February, 2010 – Even with about seven doctors joining every year, it would still take Bhutan another five to six years to be in a “comfortable” situation, which is having two doctors in each hospital in the country, say health ministry officials.
   [read more]

Bhutan Observer

Mind your language in business
If language is the key to com­munication, what would hap­pen when a Dzongkha-speak­ing man from western Bhutan sets foot in the Tshangla-speaking east, that too on a business venture?
When Ap Dorji (name changed), a seasoned man­darin businessman, took to the east for the first time, lan­guage barrier came as a big impediment.
After surveying an orchard, [...]    [read more]

Medical practitioners must register
Bhutan Medical and Health Council (BMHC) under the Ministry of Health has rec­ognised various medical col­leges and institutes in the South-east Asian region. Six institutes in Thailand, four in Sri Lanka, two in Myanmar, 42 in Bangladesh, and 282 in India have been recogn­ised under section 10 A of the Health Act.
The recognised institutes are [...]    [read more]

Making dancing a profession
Talk about dancing, and he has every conceivable move. Dressed like a Korean with yellowish hair, 17-year-old Pema Wangchuk is not a pro­fessional dancer but he is amazingly good at it.
Pema has participated in numerous dance competitions in the country and bagged the first prize every time he par­ticipated. The latest feather in his cap [...]    [read more]

Class X results declared
Click here to check class X results
The 2009 class X BCSC examinations results are out today. The cut off point for admission to class XI in government schools is 62 percent.

   [read more]

Does landholding need a cap?
If the draft national land policy, which removes the maximum landholding ceil­ing of 25 acres, is adopted, it will widen the gap between the haves and have-nots, say most members of the public.
The draft policy says that the ceiling will be lifted to en­courage commercial farming and large-scale development with progressive taxation on large landholdings [...]    [read more]

New call centre opens
A new call centre, Bright life Institute of Management, at Peyling Complex in Thimphu was inaugurated yesterday.
A franchise of Orion CALLTECH in India, the in­stitute targets to train about 25,000 to 30,000 university graduates and class XII passed students in various courses in two years.
The centre offers Diploma in BPO Management (DIBM) and complete course [...]    [read more]


Wai! The Bhutanese entertainment industry is entertaining the public, indeed. Unlike other music shows that capture only a certain section of the so­ciety, the ongoing Druk Star singing contest is enter­taining music lovers of all kinds – zhungdra, boedra and rigsar aficionados; MTV-loving youth, middle-aged bathroom singers, and soulful zhungdra sing­ers.
The template of Druk Star [...]    [read more]


   [read more]

New hospital plagued by problems
The new Jigme Dorji Wangchuck National Referral Hospital complex in Thimphu is indeed complex. The staff members are still not well ori­ented with the new hospital even four months after shift­ing into it. Besides, they are facing numerous problems.
The absence of wash basins for staff and lack of changing rooms and toilets are some of [...]    [read more]

Pcal foundation cup in semis
In the first semi-final, Druk United, who defeated Lhaki in the quarter finals, took on Thimphu United B who came up with much gusto after winning the last con­secutive games in the quar­ter final against the Pazaps. Druk United strode from the beginning to notch the first game when Thimphu United couldn’t even make a [...]    [read more]

Bhutan News archive for 12 February 2010

February 12, 2010 - From

International Sources

World Bank Faces Tiger Trap in Burma – Inter Press Service
BANGKOK, Feb 12 (IPS) – As the World Bank embarks on its latest foray to protect Asian forests that are home to wild tigers, one of the continent’s iconic predators, a visible trap looms in military-ruled Burma. The challenge for the Bank stems …    [read more]

Send To: – Inter Press Service
ENVIRONMENT: World Bank Faces Tiger Trap in Burma Marwaan Macan-Markar BANGKOK, Feb 12 (IPS) – As the World Bank embarks on its latest foray to protect Asian forests that are home to wild tigers, one of the continent’s iconic predators, a visible …    [read more]

AsianinNY.com Celebrates Lunar New Year – PR.com
AsianinNY.com, New York’s premier online destination for networking in the Asian community and multicultural entertainment, will welcome the year of the Tiger with a celebration of Lunar New Year featuring an international lineup of performers on …    [read more]

The king of Bhutan claims to be “father of the Christians,” but does … – AsiaNews.IT
These days the Christian organization Open Doors has classified the small Himalayan kingdom 12th out of 50 countries where religious freedom is violated. Despite the marriage of the king’s sister with the nephew of a Jesuit priest and the guarantee …    [read more]

More federal aid for refugees is needed – Concord Monitor
Late last month, the U.S. State Department announced that it was doubling the amount of its contribution to refugee resettlement efforts from $900 to $1,800 per person. The increase is retroactive to Jan. 1. “While the U.S. government cannot …    [read more]

Axed in the new VTI curriculum – Kuensel Online
Construction Service Centre 12 February, 2010 – Almost a decade since its establishment to produce a skilled workforce for the country, labour ministry’s construction service centre (CSC), the erstwhile construction training centre, is closing down …    [read more]

The Year of the (threatened) Tiger – Kuensel Online
12 February, 2010 – As we welcome the Year of the Tiger, the new year is not about roaring celebration. It instead calls for more conservation actions. Among the 13 tiger range countries in the world, Bhutan, which is best known for its conservation …    [read more]

Iranians not granted visa-on-arrival, says Home Ministry – Malay Mail
He said only visitors from eight countries — China, India, Bhutan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Taiwan and the Comoros — enjoyed this facility, which was introduced in 2006 in conjunction with Visit Malaysia Year 2007. However, the sudden increase …    [read more]

Top 10 scariest runways – Edmonton Journal
SYDNEY – Nervous fliers, stop reading! Travel website Travel + Leisure has come up with a list of the world’s scariest runways that can make even the most relaxed travelers grip their armrest. 1. Paro Airport, Bhutan Tucked into a tightly cropped …    [read more]

Concerns raised, five-in-one vaccine will have to wait – Indian Express
The ambitious plan of the Union Health Ministry to introduce a pentavalent vaccine — to fight five diseases — in the National Immunisation Programme early this year has received a setback. With doubts being raised about the “need” of the …    [read more]

Kuensel – Bhutan’s National Newspaper

class X results: 62 % cut off point
Breaking News 12 February, 2010 –

Karma Tenzin of Gomtu MSS , Samtse toped the BCSE examination 2009 with 91.40 percent. The cut off point for admission to class XI in government schools has been fixed at 62 percent. Only 3,695 students will make it to class XI in government schools.    [read more]

Axed in the new VTI curriculum
Construction Service Centre 12 February, 2010 – Almost a decade since its establishment to produce a skilled workforce for the country, labour ministry’s construction service centre (CSC), the erstwhile construction training centre, is closing down.

   [read more]

Picture story

12 February, 2010 – Ambassador of Switzerland to Bhutan, Philippe Welti, hands over the ceremonial key to the buildings at the Paro college of education, constructed by the Swiss agency for development and corporation (SDC), to the vice chancellor, royal university of Bhutan, Dasho (Dr) Pema Thinley. Looking on is Helvetas project manager, Werner Christen
   [read more]

2013 – Two doctors per dzongkhag
Bhutan still needs 79 doctors to be in a “comfortable” situation

12 February, 2010 – Even with about seven doctors joining every year, it would still take Bhutan another five to six years to be in a “comfortable” situation, which is having two doctors in each hospital in the country, say health ministry officials.
   [read more]

Rapists of 60-year-old sentenced
12 February, 2010 – Gelephu dungkhag court yesterday sentenced two men for raping a 60-year old married woman in Umling in November last year.    [read more]

The Year of the (threatened) Tiger

12 February, 2010 – As we welcome the Year of the Tiger, the new year is not about roaring celebration. It instead calls for more conservation actions.
   [read more]

Tata in Bhutan
Chairman of the Tata Group, Mr Ratan N Tata shares his plans and areas of interest in Bhutan.
Tata Group Chairman, Mr Ratan N Tata and DHI Chairman, Om Pradhan

12 February, 2010 –

What’s the reason for your visit?
We’re making an investment in one of your hydro projects (Dagachu), however, after coming here, we are struck and inspired by Bhutan. I realise that the Tata fraternity could play perhaps a very contributory role in the development of Bhutan.

   [read more]

Suspended between approval and action
Amochu (Toorsa): The over Nu 5bn project needs a systematic approach which will take even more time

Amochu Land Reclamation Project 12 February, 2010 –

Two years after the Amochu (Toorsa) land reclamation proposal was approved in principle by the cabinet, the much-awaited project, aimed at protecting Phuentsholing from flooding and to reclaim eroded land for sustainable use, is yet to take off.
   [read more]

Will we, won’t we … WTO?
12 February, 2010 – The existing ban on the sale of tobacco products may be the first to go if Bhutan ever becomes a member of the World Trade Organisation.    [read more]

Bhutan Observer

Class X results declared
Click here to check class X results
The 2009 class X BCSC examinations results are out today. The cut off point for admission to class XI in government schools is 62 percent.

   [read more]

Does landholding need a cap?
If the draft national land policy, which removes the maximum landholding ceil­ing of 25 acres, is adopted, it will widen the gap between the haves and have-nots, say most members of the public.
The draft policy says that the ceiling will be lifted to en­courage commercial farming and large-scale development with progressive taxation on large landholdings [...]    [read more]

New call centre opens
A new call centre, Bright life Institute of Management, at Peyling Complex in Thimphu was inaugurated yesterday.
A franchise of Orion CALLTECH in India, the in­stitute targets to train about 25,000 to 30,000 university graduates and class XII passed students in various courses in two years.
The centre offers Diploma in BPO Management (DIBM) and complete course [...]    [read more]


Wai! The Bhutanese entertainment industry is entertaining the public, indeed. Unlike other music shows that capture only a certain section of the so­ciety, the ongoing Druk Star singing contest is enter­taining music lovers of all kinds – zhungdra, boedra and rigsar aficionados; MTV-loving youth, middle-aged bathroom singers, and soulful zhungdra sing­ers.
The template of Druk Star [...]    [read more]


   [read more]

New hospital plagued by problems
The new Jigme Dorji Wangchuck National Referral Hospital complex in Thimphu is indeed complex. The staff members are still not well ori­ented with the new hospital even four months after shift­ing into it. Besides, they are facing numerous problems.
The absence of wash basins for staff and lack of changing rooms and toilets are some of [...]    [read more]

Pcal foundation cup in semis
In the first semi-final, Druk United, who defeated Lhaki in the quarter finals, took on Thimphu United B who came up with much gusto after winning the last con­secutive games in the quar­ter final against the Pazaps. Druk United strode from the beginning to notch the first game when Thimphu United couldn’t even make a [...]    [read more]

Radhi’s special rice comes to Thimphu
 
 Radhi’s special rice, lo­cally known as sorbang khu, will now be avail­able at Centenary Farmers’ Market in Thimphu for the first time.
Radhi Gewog in Trashi­gang, popularly known as the rice bowl of the east, has pack­aged around seven tonnes of sorbang rice from 13 house­holds to be sold in Thimphu. According to dzongkhag of­ficials, the [...]    [read more]

Can we leave mining for posterity?
Bhutan has relatively an intact environment with much of its area under forest cover. The pres­ent generation inherited the largely intact environment due to the sound develop­ment policies of the succes­sive monarchs, prudent liv­ing style of past generations based on Buddhist philoso­phy and the fortune of having a small population.
In the recent times, we saw [...]    [read more]

Spiritual oasis amid madding crowds
Amid madding crowds and bustling activities, an unas­suming Buddhist centre pro­vides an oasis for spiritual reflection and contemplation. Deer Park, a Thimphu-based centre for art and contempla­tion, organizes discussions, informal meetings, medita­tion, and screen movies every week at Nazhoen Pelri youth centre.
Wisdom Garden Tea Party, held every Sunday at 3:30 pm, is an open discussion [...]    [read more]

Bhutan News archive for 11 February 2010

February 11, 2010 - From

International Sources

Tourism and travel fair begins in Delhi – New Kerala
New Delhi, Feb 11 : The 78th edition of the Travel and Tourism Fair and the Outbound Travel Mart (TTF and OTM), billed as India’s largest network of travel marts, was inaugurated here Thursday with the tagline – ‘one world, one Asia’. The objective …    [read more]

From Baghdad to Rochester: the road less traveled – Campus Times
One could forgive a UR student if he or she overlooked the streets adjacent to Lake Avenue in Northwest Rochester. After all, the duplexes and one-story homes, which sit on small, tight-knit plots, are a staple of the city. This neighborhood is …    [read more]

South Asian Games 2010: India wins 174 medals – Meri News
In total 8 countries participated in the 2010 south asian games which included Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Indian win 90 golds, 55 silvers and 30 bronze medals. On the last day India win two golds …    [read more]

‘Snowmaggedon’ in Washington spurs climate change doubters – Los Angeles Times Blogs
Mark Twain had it right: Climate is what we expect; weather is what we get. So, is the massive dumping of snow from the Mid-Atlantic to New England proof positive that climate change is untrue, as doubters such as Sen. James Imhofe (R-Okla.) have …    [read more]

Largest students sports meet in Asia – PRLog (free press release)
Chennai, February 11th, 2010: PSNA College of Engineering & Technology, Dindugul is hosting 28th Tamilnadu Inter Engineering Sports event (TIES 2010). A 14 days mega event scheduled from 14th February 2010 to 27th February 2010 will bring 25,000 …    [read more]

McKinsey’s proposal worry builders, ACC – Kuensel Online
Construction Industry 11 February, 2010 – Bhutanese construction companies and a few government entities are worried over the McKinsey’s proposal to the government to revive the point system to award projects to contractors. The point system …    [read more]

Tata interested in Bhutan’s development – Kuensel Online
11 February, 2010 – Tata group would like to increase its presence in Bhutan in areas beyond hydropower projects, and not necessarily for money, the chairman of India’s industrial and commercial giant, Tata group, Ratan Tata, told Prime Minister …    [read more]

India to play role of effective partner of Colombo Plan: Mukherjee – New Kerala
The current member countries are Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Iran, Japan, Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, New Zealand, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Singapore, Sri …    [read more]

BHEL bags INR 1000 crore hydro power order from Bhutan – SteelGuru
Business Standard reported that BHEL has bagged INR 1,000 crore contracts for supplying equipment to a hydro power project in Bhutan. BHEL has secured INR 1,016 crore contract from Punatsangchhu Hydroelectric Project Authority, Bhutan for the electro …    [read more]

reassigned to NegOr – Visayan Daily Star
Fua will be the new PARO of Cebu province. Leonidas served as PARO for Negros Oriental from 2003-2006. He was transferred to DAR-Bacolod City in May 2006, and in Cebu last February in 2008. Leonidas said he finds transferring to Negros more …    [read more]

Kuensel – Bhutan’s National Newspaper

PM expresses doubts
Weighing national cons against global pros

WTO Accession 11 February, 2010 – Bhutan is ready to join the world trade organisation (WTO) any day, but prime minister Lyonchhoen Jigmi Y Thinley has his reservations.
   [read more]

‘Inadvertent’ human rights violations
11 February, 2010 – “In promoting the rights of our people, we must be receptive to our mistakes and accessible to corrections,” said the chairperson of the national assembly’s human rights committee, MP Damchoe Dorji. While instances of human rights violations have occurred in Bhutan, the government is committed to the promotion and protection of human rights in the country, he said.    [read more]

Tata interested in Bhutan’s development
Courtesy Call Ratan Tata, CEO, Tata group meets Prime Minister Jigmi Y Thinley during his visit to Bhutan.

11 February, 2010 – Tata group would like to increase its presence in Bhutan in areas beyond hydropower projects, and not necessarily for money, the chairman of India’s industrial and commercial giant, Tata group, Ratan Tata, told Prime Minister Jigmi Y Thinley.    [read more]

McKinsey’s proposal worry builders, ACC
Construction Industry 11 February, 2010 – Bhutanese construction companies and a few government entities are worried over the McKinsey’s proposal to the government to revive the point system to award projects to contractors.    [read more]

Rush for meat before ban
Grab It While It’s Going: Thimphu meat shops experience bumper sales before monthlong closedown

11 February, 2010 – As in past years, there is pandemonium at all Thimphu meat shops, besieged by residents rushing to stock up their pantries and freezers with meat, which will be banned for a month starting tomorrow.    [read more]

Tackling symptoms and not the problem
11 February, 2010 – The immigration department raiding houses, backed with a search warrant will not solve the problem of Bhutanese employing non-national domestic helpers. This is the overriding message Kuensel readers are expressing even as immigration officials are planning to expand their search zones.    [read more]

Land transactions to go online
Reduces time from a month to a week and there’s no paperwork either

11 February, 2010 – ‘E-Succour’ in the near future will allow Bhutanese to make buy, sell and also inherit land at the click of a button online.

In the first step towards this, the national land commission (NLC) has installed a data centre or large computer memory in its building in Thimphu.    [read more]

Helvetas handover
11 February, 2010 – The ambassador of Switzerland to Bhutan, Philippe Welti, will formally hand over buildings constructed under third phase of the Swiss agency for development and corporation (SDC) to the vice chancellor, royal university of Bhutan, Dasho (Dr) Pema Thinley, today at the Paro college of education.    [read more]

Phuentsholing branch office launched
The New Bank On The Block: Chairman Dasho Sangay Wangchuk and CEO N K Arora at the opening

Druk Punjab National Bank 11 February, 2010 – About 300 people opened accounts and Nu 60 mn was sanctioned in one day as the Druk Punjab national bank ltd. (DPNBL) opened its second branch office in Phuentsholing yesterday.    [read more]

Changchung to Capital
Two youth make the epic journey from their village to Thimphu in search of jobs
He’s Leaving Home A scene that must be replicated across the rural landscape of Bhutan

10 February, 2010 – Dorji ascends the dusty path on the steep hillside, a heavy bag on his back. His two brothers and mother, with another bag, follow closely.    [read more]

Bhutan Observer

Humans retreat from marauding animals
 
 In the ever-intensifying conflict between humans and wild animals in Ni­chula Gewog in Panbang Dungkhag, the humans are beginning to retreat. So far, some 19 families have aban­doned their ancestral land to work as labourers.
Singhbir Tamang from Manglabare came to Alay village with his family of 10. Now he does menial work for other farmers [...]    [read more]

Tata interested in bolstering its presence in Bhutan
Tata group would like to increase its presence in Bhutan in areas beyond hydropower projects, and not necessarily for money, the Chairman of India’s industrial and commercial giant, Tata Group, Ratan Tata told Prime Minister Lyonchhen Jigmi Y Thinley.
Calling on the prime minister in Gyalyong Tshokhang today, Mr Ratan Tata, accompanied by five of his [...]    [read more]

Do you think that local butter and cheese should carry labels?
   [read more]

Break the vicious cycle of potatoes
 
Sometime ago, there was an article by reporter Rabi C Dahal in Bhu­tan Observer on production and marketing of potatoes by Bumthaps and Phobjibs.
It was pointed out that these locals grow potatoes through sheer hard work and take them to Phuentsholing auction yard. They lose part of their income from the sale of potatoes to [...]    [read more]

New ambassadors call on the PM
The new ambassadors of Switzerland, Maldives and Australia to Bhutan called on Prime Minister Jigmi Y Thinley at the Gyalyong Tshokhang today following their presentations of credentials to His Majesty the King in the morning.
During the meeting, they discussed, among others, climate change, Bhutan’s development priorities and goals and the advent of democracy.
Prime Minister said that [...]    [read more]

Drukgyal Zhipa returns to Thimphu
His Majesty the fourth Druk Gyalpo Jigme Singye Wangchuck and members of the Royal Family have returned to the capital today, Tuesday, after a 12-day tour to regions in eastern Bhutan affected by the natural disasters.
During the tour, His Majesty the fourth Druk Gyalpo met with the people affected by the recent natural disasters and [...]    [read more]

Agriculture officials clueless about dying mandarin trees
 
 Farmers in Pemagatshel will be relieved to learn that mandarin trees in the dzongkhag are dying not because of Huanglongbing (HLB) or Yellow Dragon Dis­ease as was thought to be.
Nineteen samples, eight from Yalang village and 11 from Denchi village were sent for the test. The samples were collected from badly affected orchards with signs [...]    [read more]

Millions failed to remove HIV/AIDS stigma
 
 Millions of ngultrums have been spent on public aware­ness of HIV/AIDS through multi-sector task forces, awareness programmes, and advertisements, yet the stig­ma attached to the disease and people suffering from it remains a challenge, accord­ing to health officials.
Director of Public Health, Dr Ugen Dophu, said it would take years to remove the stigma. “The infected [...]    [read more]

RUB delegation visits AIT
Delegates from the Royal University of Bhutan (RUB) led by Gajel Lhundup, Director of Department of Planning and Resources, visited the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) in Thailand and sought greater cooperation and help in capacity building from AIT.
The delegation met the AIT president, Said Irandoust in January and expressed their keen desire to engage [...]    [read more]

PM, NIIT Chairman discuss IT project
The Chairman of Indian ICT giant NIIT, Rajendra S Pawar, and Prime Minister Jigmi Y Thinley met in New Delhi, India, to take the Nu 2.05 billion Total Solutions forward.
The project, funded by the government of India, is aimed at creating a knowledge-based Bhutanese society by harnessing information and communications technology.
The Information and Communications Secretary, [...]    [read more]

Bhutan News archive for 06 February 2010

February 6, 2010 - From

International Sources

Is China before Saarc for Nepal? – Asian Age
The Islamabad meet, coming just two months before the Saarc summit in Bhutan’s capital Thimpu, was to have been an ice-breaking event. Home minister P. Chidambaram would have been the first top Indian official to visit Pakistan after the 2008 …    [read more]

Readers’ Comments on ” DECONSTRUCTING NGABO (IN 1980): by Jamyang … – Phayul
This cannot be said of traitors such as Ngabo Ngawang Jigme, or about our super-heroes, super-envoys to Beijing, whom our kids will definitely look down at. Here too, there is an edifying remark by Jamyang Norbu about co-operating with the enemy.    [read more]

Saarc ministers’ meet postponed at Nepal’s request – The Daily Star
While the ground-breaking meeting of the home ministers of Saarc to be held in Pakistan has been postponed at Nepal’s request, the Himalayan republic has, however, sent its home minister to China as per schedule. Home Minister Bhim Rawal Saturday led …    [read more]

Rising Tides – The Daily Star
DESPITE solid development performance since independence, at around $600 Bangladesh’s per capita income remains very low. Poverty has come down from over 70 percent in the early 1970s to around 40 percent in 2005. Yet this level is very high and …    [read more]

Steps to implement treaty with India suggested – New Nation
Experts at a seminar on regional cooperation suggested effective and immediate steps to implement the recent agreements with India when policymakers responded positively to their suggestions. The experts also observed that the recent agreements would …    [read more]

Nepal putting China before SAARC? – New Kerala
The Islamabad meet, coming just two months before the SAARC summit in Bhutan’s capital Thimpu, was to have been an ice-breaking event. Indian Home Minister P. Chidambaram would have been the first top Indian official to visit Pakistan after the 2008 …    [read more]

Driving the road less travelled – Kuensel Online
Friendship Rally – Days 1 & 2 6 February, 2010 – “Car no. 28 ready?” asks the rally chairman over the microphone. “Vroom… vroom…” comes the reply, as the driver, with a heavy helmet nods, his hands on the steering wheel and his feet …    [read more]

SKEWERED BEETLE LARVA ON CULINARY HORIZON – SanFranciscoSentinel.com
Recommended by nine out of ten aunts. The day when restaurants will serve garlic grasshoppers or beetle larva skewers is getting closer in Costa Rica, where scientists are “growing” insects for human consumption. Entomologist Manuel Zumbado’s …    [read more]

Drukgyal Zhipa addresses the people of Mongar – Kuensel Online
6 February, 2010 – Addressing the people of Mongar dzongkhag affected by natural disasters yesterday, His Majesty the Fourth Druk Gyalpo Jigme Singye Wangchuck … Therefore, His Majesty commanded the Royal Bhutan Army to deliver construction …    [read more]

Pachauri should stand firm: Farooq Abdullah – New Kerala
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was Friday joined by the prime ministers of Greece, Norway, Finland, Slovenia and Bhutan in backing Pachauri and defending the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report on the impact of global warming on …    [read more]

Kuensel – Bhutan’s National Newspaper

Drukgyal Zhipa addresses the people of Mongar

6 February, 2010 – Addressing the people of Mongar dzongkhag affected by natural disasters yesterday, His Majesty the Fourth Druk Gyalpo Jigme Singye Wangchuck, assured that all the 1,476 affected households will receive the King’s kidu of Nu 21.6 million depending on the level of damage to their homes.
   [read more]

26-year quest for compensation
Administrative snafu deprives retired engineer of inheritance

6 February, 2010 – A single blue line marked in a second over a sa thram (land record) has left a retired engineer fighting 26 years for compensation from his lost land.
   [read more]

Steel industry Temporary shutdown
Delayed delivery of primary raw material from India responsible

6 February, 2010 – Shortage of primary raw material (sponge iron) for steel has caused four of the five steel industries in Pasakha, Phuentsholing, to temporarily close down, says the association of Bhutanese industries.
   [read more]

Driving the road less travelled
River bed- day 2, second leg. Cars stuck – the hilux from Bhutan helped to pull the cars out, 13.76 km away from P/ling

Friendship Rally – Days 1 & 26 February, 2010 –

“Car no. 28 ready?” asks the rally chairman over the microphone. “Vroom… vroom…” comes the reply, as the driver, with a heavy helmet nods, his hands on the steering wheel and his feet pumping the accelerator. “Okay… three, two … one!”

   [read more]

Administrative burden of error
6 February, 2010 – The story of a man still fighting for compensation for land that was struck off the register by an official 26 years ago highlights problems that are still around today and may be there tomorrow as well.
   [read more]

Pemagatshel: Well on the road to recovery
Abi Choden in Changchung shows how her new house is smaller and better than the previous one

5 February, 2010 – Except for Dungmin gewog, where villagers are still collecting raw material to repair their homes, most houses in Pemagatshel dzongkhag that were damaged by the earthquakes last year are on the verge of completing repairs and rebuilding.    [read more]

DHI’s Nu 52 billion investment plan
2010-14 plan for construction company, a third plane, industrial estate, rural mobile network, etc.

5 February, 2010 – The Druk holdings investment (DHI) and its companies are planning a Nu 52.614 bn investment for various projects and plans in four years, from 2010 to 2014.
   [read more]

Open season for bank employees
Competition makes established banks take steps to retain staff

5 February, 2010 – With Druk Punjab national bank (DPNB) now open, the country’s first two commercial banks have lost a number of customers both old and new. But a few employees from both BoB (bank of Bhutan) and BNB (Bhutan national bank) also joined the migration to DPNB, causing one bank to step up measures at retaining its staff.

   [read more]

Bhutan gets more IMF votes
5 February, 2010 – Bhutan is on its way to getting more voting rights in the international monetary fund (IMF) with a reform in the organisation’s quota and voice system.    [read more]

Man detained for domestic violence
He allegedly beat his wife and raped and impregnated his 14-year old stepdaughter

5 February, 2010 – Tsirang police have detained a 47-year old man for allegedly beating his wife and raping and impregnating his 14-year old stepdaughter.
   [read more]

Bhutan Observer

Getting practical to combat bird flu
 
 Supposing a livestock exten­sion officer reported death among wild birds and com­mercial poultry in Gelephu in Sarpang and the sample from the dead birds tested positive for influenza A (H5). What would the Department of Livestock and other stake­holders do?
This was a scenario as­sumed by representatives from health and agriculture ministries and officials from other [...]    [read more]

Hazelnut promise excites farmers
 
 Come summer, and some of the barren, fallow and eroded land in the eastern dzong­khags will come under hazel­nut plantation, which has the potential to change the lives of the subsistence farmers. This was revealed by Daniel K Spitzer of Mountain Hazelnut Venture (MHV), a US-based company, during his visit to potential hazelnut growing areas [...]    [read more]

Thirsty gewog sees hope of water
 
 The drinking water short­age in Nangla Gewog in Panbang Dungkhag will become a thing of the past by June with works on water supply almost complete.
The water supply scheme will benefit some 64 house­holds – 42 in Sonamthang village, 18 in Morangdut, and four in Pongling village.
Materials for the construc­tion are supplied by the gov­ernment [...]    [read more]

EPL fever grips Bhutanese football fans
 
 A bukhari warms at least some 20 football enthusiasts cuddled in front of the televi­sion set watching their favou­rite football players compete for glory in the English Pre­mier League (EPL).
EPL is a football event that has enticed the recre­ational aura of most people in the country today. “Sitting in front of the television set with [...]    [read more]

Bhutan is doing its bit to save planet: PM
Prime Minister Jigmi Y Thinley offered Gross National Happiness (GNH) as perhaps the panacea the world could adopt to address the planet’s environmental woes.
Delivering a keynote address at the 10th Delhi Summit for Sustainable Development (DSDS) on Friday, he painted a vivid imagery of the dying glaciers of the Himalayas and warned that the conventional GDP-based [...]    [read more]

Forensic lab in the offing
 
 The bureau of law and order under the Ministry of Home and Cultural Affairs, in coor­dination with health, police and other departments, is planning to set up a national forensic laboratory in the country, according to the Law and Order Director, Karma Tshering Namgyal.
The cabinet has in principle endorsed the establishment of a National Forensic [...]    [read more]

Youth organise futsal tournament
 
 A one-day futsal tournament was organized at Lungten­zampa Higher Secondary School by Samdrup, a class XII passed student, on Febru­ary 2.
The league-cum-knockout tournament saw eight teams made up of youngsters. Each team comprised five players. The entry fee was Nu 250 a team.
Sunday Market United and Team TD reached the final which ended in a [...]    [read more]

Rural Panbang meets its own bank
 
 The opening of Bhutan De­velopment Finance Corpora­tion Limited (BDFCL) branch in Panbang Dungkhag in No­vember last year has eased financial transactions in the dungkhag.
The dungkhag’s close prox­imity to the Indian border and frequent strikes in the neighbouring Indian states create problems for financial transactions, and carrying cash across the Indian states is risky. The need [...]    [read more]

When car keeps you indoors
 
 In the age of the car, an old car-phobic woman is consigned to a constrictive life. Sonam Pelden reports.
 She was born and brought up in Thimphu. She uses a Nokia mobile phone with modern rigsar song ngesem ngesem as ring­tone, and she can operate an MP3 player. But she is an odd one out because [...]    [read more]

Know your future stars

Of the 20 contestants in Druk Star, only 11 dzongkhags are represented.
People from Trongsa are considered to have a good voice but there is none from Trongsa.
Most of the contestants plan to bring out albums and work towards becoming pro­fessional singers if they win the contest. Chencho Norbu
says he will go back to teach­ ing. [...]    [read more]

Bhutan News archive for 05 February 2010

February 5, 2010 - From

International Sources

Watch All The Tim Tebow Parody Ads – The Business Insider
Tim Tebow’s Super Bowl pro-life ad is so controversial, it’s funny. At least, Jimmy Kimmel, the Upright Citizen’s Brigade and a bunch of angry grannies from Florida thought so. They created parody ads before the spot even aired on Sunday’s CBS …    [read more]

PM reaffirms commitment to sustainable development – Hindu Business Line
The Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, with (from left) the President of the Republic of Kiribati, Mr Anote Tong; the Prime Minister of Bhutan, Mr Jigmi Yoser Thinley; the Premier of Quebec, Mr Jean Charest; the President of the Republic of Slovenia …    [read more]

PM expresses confidence in IPCC’s work, lauds Pachauri’s leadership – IndiaTimes
NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has disregarded the controversy over the authenticity of projections made by Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change to say that climate change is a real threat. Speaking at the Delhi Sustainable Development …    [read more]

PM stands ground on climate accord – Hindustan Times
Reiterating India’s position and warding off renewed pressure on the Copenhagen accord, the Prime Minister said on Friday the deal was a “catalogue of voluntary commitments and not a negotiated set of legal obligations”. US President Barack …    [read more]

PM lavishes praise on Pachauri – Daily Pioneer
India on Friday made it clear it was strongly behind the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and its chief RK Pachauri, both facing criticism over the Himalayan glaciers’ goofup. The backing came from none other than Prime Minister …    [read more]

U.N. climate panel reviews Dutch sea level glitch – star.com.my
OSLO (Reuters) – The U.N.’s panel of climate experts said on Friday it was reviewing whether it wrongly said that more than half of the Netherlands is below sea level in a new glitch after exaggerating the thaw of Himalayan glaciers. A man with a …    [read more]

Bangladesh beat India, reach soccer final – New Nation
A late goal by Touhidul Alam Sabuj guided host Bangladesh to the final of the South Asian Games Men’s Football eliminating their giant neighbour India by a solitary goal in the first semifinal at the Bangabandhu National Stadium Friday. With the feat …    [read more]

IFC, Netherlands to support South Asian trade – New Kerala
Kolkata, Feb 5 : International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, and the government of the Netherlands are organizing training programs in Bhutan and Nepal to support trade finance and risk management awareness among banks …    [read more]

Insects for Human Consumption: Scientists To ‘Grow’ Them in Costa Rica – Med India
The day when restaurants will serve garlic grasshoppers or beetle larva skewers is getting closer in Costa Rica, where scientists are “growing” insects for human consumption. Entomologist Manuel Zumbado’s research into this alternative food source is …    [read more]

Happiness and Hazelnuts – Forbes
Sorry, this story is not available online. In the case of a few authors, Forbes does not own the electronic rights. You will have to read this story in the print edition of the magazine. We apologize for the inconvenience. –The Editors    [read more]

Kuensel – Bhutan’s National Newspaper

Pemagatshel: Well on the road to recovery
Abi Choden in Changchung shows how her new house is smaller and better than the previous one

5 February, 2010 – Except for Dungmin gewog, where villagers are still collecting raw material to repair their homes, most houses in Pemagatshel dzongkhag that were damaged by the earthquakes last year are on the verge of completing repairs and rebuilding.    [read more]

DHI’s Nu 52 billion investment plan
2010-14 plan for construction company, a third plane, industrial estate, rural mobile network, etc.

5 February, 2010 – The Druk holdings investment (DHI) and its companies are planning a Nu 52.614 bn investment for various projects and plans in four years, from 2010 to 2014.
   [read more]

Open season for bank employees
Competition makes established banks take steps to retain staff

5 February, 2010 – With Druk Punjab national bank (DPNB) now open, the country’s first two commercial banks have lost a number of customers both old and new. But a few employees from both BoB (bank of Bhutan) and BNB (Bhutan national bank) also joined the migration to DPNB, causing one bank to step up measures at retaining its staff.

   [read more]

Bhutan gets more IMF votes
5 February, 2010 – Bhutan is on its way to getting more voting rights in the international monetary fund (IMF) with a reform in the organisation’s quota and voice system.    [read more]

Man detained for domestic violence
He allegedly beat his wife and raped and impregnated his 14-year old stepdaughter

5 February, 2010 – Tsirang police have detained a 47-year old man for allegedly beating his wife and raping and impregnating his 14-year old stepdaughter.
   [read more]

Bamboo mats much in demand
Bamboo bonanza Required to make temporary shelters for construction staff

5 February, 2010 – At Chuserbu, two kilometres from Chendibji on the Trongsa-Wangdue highway, is a row of temporary bamboo sheds and freshly made bamboo mats piled to one side of the road.

   [read more]

To double the big cat’s number by 2022
Tiger Conservation Conference5 February, 2010 –

Thirteen tiger range countries, including Bhutan, pledged to double the number of tigers in the wild by 2022, the next Year of the Tiger, during the firstAsianministerial conference fortigerconservation, enforcement, 11and innovativefinancing held last week at Hau Hin, Bangkok.
   [read more]

Ground realities
5 February, 2010 – If land had always been a thorny issue, it has become sensitive now. Land, as they say, has sent countries to war and split families. In Bhutan, it is evident from the land dispute cases in courts all over the country.    [read more]

GoI funds for gewogs
Community-based activities may now be implemented immediately

Small Development Projects4 February, 2010 –

About 441 projects that include building farm roads, rural water supply schemes and basic health and education infrastructure in all 205 gewogs should begin immediately with the Indian government releasing Nu 394 mn yesterday.
   [read more]

Picture story

4 February, 2010 –
Lyonchhoen Jigmi Y Thinley receives a cheque for Nu 394 million from Indian ambassador Pavan K Varma
   [read more]

Bhutan Observer

Forensic lab in the offing
 
 The bureau of law and order under the Ministry of Home and Cultural Affairs, in coor­dination with health, police and other departments, is planning to set up a national forensic laboratory in the country, according to the Law and Order Director, Karma Tshering Namgyal.
The cabinet has in principle endorsed the establishment of a National Forensic [...]    [read more]

Youth organise futsal tournament
 
 A one-day futsal tournament was organized at Lungten­zampa Higher Secondary School by Samdrup, a class XII passed student, on Febru­ary 2.
The league-cum-knockout tournament saw eight teams made up of youngsters. Each team comprised five players. The entry fee was Nu 250 a team.
Sunday Market United and Team TD reached the final which ended in a [...]    [read more]

Rural Panbang meets its own bank
 
 The opening of Bhutan De­velopment Finance Corpora­tion Limited (BDFCL) branch in Panbang Dungkhag in No­vember last year has eased financial transactions in the dungkhag.
The dungkhag’s close prox­imity to the Indian border and frequent strikes in the neighbouring Indian states create problems for financial transactions, and carrying cash across the Indian states is risky. The need [...]    [read more]

When car keeps you indoors
 
 In the age of the car, an old car-phobic woman is consigned to a constrictive life. Sonam Pelden reports.
 She was born and brought up in Thimphu. She uses a Nokia mobile phone with modern rigsar song ngesem ngesem as ring­tone, and she can operate an MP3 player. But she is an odd one out because [...]    [read more]

Know your future stars

Of the 20 contestants in Druk Star, only 11 dzongkhags are represented.
People from Trongsa are considered to have a good voice but there is none from Trongsa.
Most of the contestants plan to bring out albums and work towards becoming pro­fessional singers if they win the contest. Chencho Norbu
says he will go back to teach­ ing. [...]    [read more]

Prime Minister addresses the tenth Delhi Sustainable Development Summit

Your Excellencies,
Distinguished Guests,
My flight to Delhi took the usual scenic route along the entire range of the Himalayas between Nepal and Bhutan. The first time I gazed at these mountains was in 1989. It was breathtaking. I was awed and inspired by the majesty and grandeur of this unbroken range of snow-clad [...]    [read more]

Be cautious across Mao Khola bridge
 
 Sir,
I am glad that a tempo­rary bridge over Mou River has been constructed. People need not have to waste their time waiting for boatman to ferry them across. But this is not the end of worry for me, and certainly not for the oth­er people staying at the other side of Mou River. Rather, I [...]    [read more]

Bhutanese students won’t be affected
 
 Derecognizing of 44 deemed universities in India will not affect Bhutanese students studying under those univer­sities, according to Karma Ye­shey, Director of Department of Adult and Higher Educa­tion (DAHE).
Forty-four deemed univer­sities in India were found to have undesirable manage­ment structure, violated the principles and guidelines of teaching and research, in­troduced thoughtless pro­grammes, no commitment towards [...]    [read more]

Bhutan’s football team out of SAF Games
 
 After losing all the matches in group A, Bhutan’s under-23 football team is out of the 11th South Asian Games (SAF) which is underway in Dhaka in Bangladesh.
On January 30, Bhutan lost to the Maldives. Although the score line of 1:0 proved against the Bhutanese play­ers, they did well to hold the Maldivian attack. It [...]    [read more]

Keep it for all
 
 The government’s new land policy is a major national decision which will have far-reaching implications on all sections of the society. Therefore, it calls for a vigorous public debate.
The draft policy aims to put our land to better use by curbing speculation and fraud and by putting in place a progressive taxation policy. The policy [...]    [read more]