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Bhutan News archive for 31 March 2010

March 31, 2010 - From

International Sources

Lt Gen V K Singh takes over as 26th Army chief – Rediff
He also commanded the Jalandhar-based 11 Corps and Ambala-based Strike Corps and was an instructor in the Indian Military Training Team (IMTRAT) headquarters in Bhutan. Singh was awarded the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal (AVSM) for distinguished service …    [read more]

‘India is a compelling market for outbound tourism’ – Rediff
We have an alliance in Nepal, we are soon going to announce one in Bhutan. We are looking at a strategic alliance in Dubai [ Images ] and the West Asia. We are also going to have more source markets. We may also consider investing in tour operators …    [read more]

Cabinet appoints Lt Gen V K Singh as the next Army … – Meri News
He has been an instructor for the Indian Military Training Team at Bhutan Headquarters. The present GOC-in-C (General Officer Commanding in Charge) of Eastern Command is the senior most officer in infantry to have such a wide experience in counter …    [read more]

General V K Singh takes over as new Indian Army chief – IndiaTimes
He also commanded the Jalandhar-based 11 Corps and Ambala-based Strike Corps and was an instructor in the Indian Military Training Team (IMTRAT) headquarters in Bhutan. Singh was awarded the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal (AVSM) for distinguished service …    [read more]

The best shoe for travelling is comfortable, broken in – The Province
She wears lightweight hiking shoes for her scouting trips to spots like Bhutan and Nepal. “I usually bring a pair of walking sandals. In warm-weather destinations, I also bring a pair of lightweight stylish sandals to wear for dinner,” she says.    [read more]

Lt Gen V K Singh to take over as 26th Army chief … – IndiaTimes
He also commanded the Jalandhar-based 11 Corps and Ambala-based Strike Corps and was an instructor in the Indian Military Training Team (IMTRAT) headquarters in Bhutan. Singh was awarded the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal (AVSM) for distinguished service …    [read more]

Rain fails to dampen spirits – Kuensel Online
His Majesty the King talks to dancers from Paro Woochu during the last … quite sternly said the tsechu was an opportunity for Bhutanese to pray for the wellbeing and happiness of all people, within and outside Bhutan.  She said that she hoped her …    [read more]

Delegating dispute resolution – Kuensel Online
Electoral Officers’ Training 31 March, 2010 – The election commission of Bhutan (ECB), which had received about … decentralised process of dispute resolution to the electoral officers on March 29, Thimphu district court drangpon, Jangchub Norbu …    [read more]

Power-starved Bangladesh bans evening use of ACs – New Kerala
Bangladesh is looking to import power from India and Bhutan, the report said. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina signed a deal for power import during her visit to India in January. Power shortage has become a political issue with the opposition including …    [read more]

Lt Gen V K Singh to take over as the 26th Army Chief – Zee News
He also commanded the Jalandhar-based 11 Corps and Ambala-based Strike Corps and was an instructor in the Indian Military Training Team (IMTRAT) headquarters in Bhutan. Singh was awarded the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal (AVSM) for distinguished service …    [read more]

Kuensel – Bhutan’s National Newspaper

Zhungdra given second wind by Druk Star

29 March, 2010 – Kinga has a craze for western music. The love for music has even made the young civil servant buy an electric guitar, which he tries out with friends on weekends.

   [read more]

Gold medalist from Nobgang

29 March, 2010 – Busting the myth that Bhutanese students pursuing studies in India on private scholarship do not perform well, Karma Choden, 23, won a gold medal from Bharti university, Tamil Nadu.

   [read more]

The Season of Renewal
No matter how long the winter, spring is sure to follow…

23 March, 2010 – It’s getting warmer and dawn is breaking earlier. There is a riot of colours as flowers blossom and a fresh shade of green slowly takes over the dry and brown landscape.    [read more]

In the right vein
Kezang Jigme is a blood donor extraordinaire

23 March, 2010 – Petrified of needles and fearful of growing weary afterward, donating blood was the last thing on senior health laboratory officer Kezang Jigme’s mind.
   [read more]

Rain fails to dampen spirits
His Majesty the King talks to dancers from Paro Woochu during the last day of the five-day Paro tshechu, which concluded yesterday.

Paro Tsechu [Day 5]31 March, 2010 –

An early morning downpour did not deter hundreds of Bhutanese, including His Majesty the King, from attending the last day of the Paro tsechu, yesterday.    [read more]

Delegating dispute resolution
Dzongkhag officials empowered to settle some cases

Electoral Officers’ Training31 March, 2010 –

The election commission of Bhutan (ECB), which had received about 111 cases of allegations and complaints during the first parliamentary elections in 2008, has now developed a two-tier dispute resolution mechanism, empowering dzongkhag electoral officers to settle certain cases at the local level.

   [read more]

Overlooked original lhakhang
The Zungney lhakhang

Zungney Lhakhang31 March, 2010 –

Apart from the vast stretches of lush plain valleys and serene landscapes, it is the spiritual landmarks that attract visitors, both tourists and Bhutanese alike, to Bumthang every year.
   [read more]

One dies in ambulance accident
31 March, 2010 – A 26-year old man died on the spot when the ambulance he was travelling in veered off the road and fell about 100 feet below the road at Deaurali, Tashithang, on March 28. He was an X-ray lab technician, who had recently returned from his studies.
   [read more]

Picture story

31 March, 2010 –
A tipper truck went off the road after colliding with another truck on Monday at Lamperi, below Dochula

   [read more]

Tourism makes room for MoFA
SAARC Summit31 March, 2010 – In their wait for one to visit the other, foreign ministry officials and Bhutanese tour operators are still undecided over who should occupy the hotel rooms in the capital city during the SAARC Summit.
   [read more]

Bhutan Observer

His Majesty graces Paro Tshechu
His Majesty The King graced the closing day of the Paro Tshechu on Tuesday

   [read more]

Grow up, Bhutan Post
Sir,
The recent surge of displacement of parcels sent from abroad, naturally, by Bhutan Post is something the officials concerned should not take lying down. Clarifications are being given now and then and they are being countered in the media.
As a matter of fact, the officials concerned should try to find out the reasons for the [...]    [read more]

Yargay bja phurdozum
Wai! Bhutanese often liken our development to the flight of a bird – yargay bja phurdozum. The meaning is, it soars and glides, ever higher, ever smoother. Indeed. Bhutan’smodern journey has been exemplary. Today, we are among the fastest developing countriesin the world.
However, with soaring development, we are confronted by bitter realities of modernization.Alongside the [...]    [read more]

Criticized road brings benefits
One year after its completion, the 10.2 km Ngangshing- Woongchhilo farm road in Pemagatshel, which sparked a lot of debate for being one of the costliest farm road projects in the country, is now benefitting the community.
Pemagatshel District Agriculture Officer (DAO), Kiran Subedi, said the farm road is beneficial for the farmers of at least [...]    [read more]

Amish Paradise
From the upcoming book, What Parents don’t tell & Teachers don’t teach
A black buggy drawn by a brown horse gently came to a halt. The traffic light on Route 30 in Lancaster County in Pennsylvania had just turned red.
We stopped too. It was a peculiar sight. A man clad completely in black clothes held the [...]    [read more]

40-50 % of Thimphu’s waste goes into river, drains
Only 40 to 50 percent of Thimphu’s waste goes to Memelakha landfill site, according to Pema Dorji, Senior Environmental Officer of Thimphu City Corporation (TCC).
The rest of the waste is either dumped into the river or in the drains clogging them and making them overflow. Thimphu generates about 36 to 50 mt of waste a [...]    [read more]

Govt revives vegetable market
In December, 2006, a spacious vegetable shed was built in Pemagatshel town to enable farmers to sell their farm produce every Sunday. It lasted only for two weeks. An attempt to revive the Sunday market in August, 2008, failed.
The dzongkhag agriculture sector is once again planning to revive the Sunday market with different arrangements to [...]    [read more]

In Siddartha’s footsteps
If unbridled materialism is on the rise, Siddhartha-like spiritual realisation is still part of Bhutanese psyche. Jigme Wangchuk reports
Damchho Dorji, 25, from Pangsho village in Punakha, finds not much meaning in life. It’s the same nagging urge of Gautama that led him to renounce everything he had in life to join monkhood at Dzongsar Khyentse [...]    [read more]

Parents question school enrollment procedures
After 18 out of 105 applicants for pre-primary admission in Trashigang Middle Secondary School got rejected this year, parents are questioning enrollment procedures and criteria.
Parents complain that some students below the age of six got admitted after manipulating their birth certificates.
A shopkeeper, whose son did not get admission because he was below six years, said [...]    [read more]

Of judgement and comments
Of late, more than Druk Star show and the contestants, the judges and their comments have become the talk of the town.
Many viewers of the show say the judges are unfair, biased and boast about themselves. It was learnt that the judges even received a written complaint signed by three people. The letter said Namkha [...]    [read more]

Bhutan News archive for 30 March 2010

March 30, 2010 - From

International Sources

The best shoe for traveling is comfortable, broken in – Vancouver Sun
She wears lightweight hiking shoes for her scouting trips to spots like Bhutan and Nepal. “I usually bring a pair of walking sandals. In warm-weather destinations, I also bring a pair of lightweight stylish sandals to wear for dinner,” she says.    [read more]

Industries demand export incentives – Economic Times
… policy, sufficient emphasis need to be exerted for export subsidization so that Indian products find space in overseas markets such as Africa, Latin America, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Pakistan,” she said. “Export proceeds should …    [read more]

Inconvenienced in the national interest – Kuensel Online
… cause them getting their elderly guests, who pump in a substantial amount of money to visit Bhutan, touring the city on foot. The association of Bhutanese … hotel rooms in Thimphu and entertain their guests in Paro or Punakha, and on the other …    [read more]

Playing with Brand Bhutan – Crikey
… be travelling as a tourist, as that costs $250 a night — the current Bhutanese … the capital Thimphu for three months, devising a theatre show in collaboration with unemployed young people, exploring their experiences of Bhutan’s rapid …    [read more]

Malla denied Kuwait visa for Elite Cup – Himalayan Times
Group B comprises of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Afghanistan, Malaysia, Bahrain and Bhutan. Pandey said it would be a huge setback for Nepal cricket if Malla missed the tournament. “We have also taken the tournament as a strong platform in our …    [read more]

CabSec will take stock of inflation – Asian Age
Chandrasekhar, will have senior policy makers as participants from Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan.    [read more]

Etihad Airways connects Kathmandu with Tokyo – Himalayan Times
… fly to Bhutan KATHMANDU: The Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation has permitted Buddha Air to begin international flights. Buddha Air has been granted permission to launch flights on Pokhara-Lucknow, Janakpur-Patna and Kathmandu-Thimphu routes …    [read more]

Most Recent – RCR Wireless
… the company’s state-of-the art sawmills, extensive inventory, and ability to meet your needs 24 hours a day, seven days a week. 02:34 AM India Plans Four Hydropower Projects in Bhutan BANGALORE, INDIA–March 29, 2010–Researched by Industrial …    [read more]

Top 10 scariest runways – The Province
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]

No Executions for Five Years Takes India Closer to … – Mynews India
Even the Indian Supreme Court observed that the resolution was another step in the global move away from capital punishment, while noting that India’s neighbours – Nepal and Bhutan – had also abolished the death penalty, along with other Asian …    [read more]

Kuensel – Bhutan’s National Newspaper

Agitated about Darjeeling education
Political unrest in the hills worries Bhutanese parents

16 March, 2010 – At the start of the 2010 academic session, a few Bhutanese parents decided to withdraw their children from schools in the neighbouring Indian hills of Darjeeling, fearing the charged political climate of the hills, exacerbated by reports of Bhutanese college students temporarily being forced to wear the national dress.    [read more]

Darj. things to do

16 March, 2010 – Having a cup of fine Darjeeling tea, with a serving of black forest cake, and a paper to read in the orange glow of the evening sun in Glenary’s. This would be one way of relaxing in the hills of Darjeeling.
   [read more]

Baby care
16 March, 2010 –
Hi doctor,
Having seen a couple of mothers steam bathing together with their new born babies, I wonder how safe it is for the babies to get a steam bath?

   [read more]

Picture story

30 March, 2010 – His Majesty the King withdzongkhag electoral officers, delimitation officers, election registration officers, and the officials of the election commission at the Lingkana palace grounds yesterday

   [read more]

Selection process begins
National judicial commission sets in motion nomination proceedings

High Court Justices 30 March, 2010 –

Members of the national judicial commission formally met for the first time yesterday to begin the process of nominating justices of the high court (HC), which has been without a judge for more than a month.
   [read more]

Labour camp razed in heart of capital

30 March, 2010 – Mongal Maya, 28, was ferrying stones at the Taj Tashi shopping complex construction site last evening, when dark fumes of smoke rising from somewhere above the Changlimithang stadium caught her eye.
   [read more]

Inconvenienced in the national interest
Public asked to bear with traffic restrictions for the greater good

SAARC Summit 30 March, 2010 –
The government’s recent plans, mapped out to regulate the capital city’s otherwise busy traffic during the summit, has raised questions among many parents and tour operators.
   [read more]

When will we learn?
30 March, 2010 – After a stormy Sunday evening, Thimphu residents were expecting more bad weather on Monday as the sky over Phajoding turned darker and black clouds gathered over the Talakha goenpa hills. By 4:30 pm, the temperature had dropped and a cold wind swept through the valley.

   [read more]

Young woman hangs herself
29 March, 2010-A 29-year old woman was found in her home hanging from a door beam in Lobesa yesterday.

   [read more]

Drangpon dies in road accident
The crash site: The Toyota Prado fell about 60m below the road at Mendregang

29 March, 2010 – Lhuentse drangpon Karma Gyamtsho was killed yesterday after the Toyota Prado, he was driving, veered off the Thimphu-Punakha highway in Mendregang gewog, falling about 60 m below the road. He was 42.
   [read more]

Bhutan Observer

Yargay bja phurdozum
Wai! Bhutanese often liken our development to the flight of a bird – yargay bja phurdozum. The meaning is, it soars and glides, ever higher, ever smoother. Indeed. Bhutan’smodern journey has been exemplary. Today, we are among the fastest developing countriesin the world.
However, with soaring development, we are confronted by bitter realities of modernization.Alongside the [...]    [read more]

Criticized road brings benefits
One year after its completion, the 10.2 km Ngangshing- Woongchhilo farm road in Pemagatshel, which sparked a lot of debate for being one of the costliest farm road projects in the country, is now benefitting the community.
Pemagatshel District Agriculture Officer (DAO), Kiran Subedi, said the farm road is beneficial for the farmers of at least [...]    [read more]

Amish Paradise
From the upcoming book, What Parents don’t tell & Teachers don’t teach
A black buggy drawn by a brown horse gently came to a halt. The traffic light on Route 30 in Lancaster County in Pennsylvania had just turned red.
We stopped too. It was a peculiar sight. A man clad completely in black clothes held the [...]    [read more]

40-50 % of Thimphu’s waste goes into river, drains
Only 40 to 50 percent of Thimphu’s waste goes to Memelakha landfill site, according to Pema Dorji, Senior Environmental Officer of Thimphu City Corporation (TCC).
The rest of the waste is either dumped into the river or in the drains clogging them and making them overflow. Thimphu generates about 36 to 50 mt of waste a [...]    [read more]

Govt revives vegetable market
In December, 2006, a spacious vegetable shed was built in Pemagatshel town to enable farmers to sell their farm produce every Sunday. It lasted only for two weeks. An attempt to revive the Sunday market in August, 2008, failed.
The dzongkhag agriculture sector is once again planning to revive the Sunday market with different arrangements to [...]    [read more]

In Siddartha’s footsteps
If unbridled materialism is on the rise, Siddhartha-like spiritual realisation is still part of Bhutanese psyche. Jigme Wangchuk reports
Damchho Dorji, 25, from Pangsho village in Punakha, finds not much meaning in life. It’s the same nagging urge of Gautama that led him to renounce everything he had in life to join monkhood at Dzongsar Khyentse [...]    [read more]

Parents question school enrollment procedures
After 18 out of 105 applicants for pre-primary admission in Trashigang Middle Secondary School got rejected this year, parents are questioning enrollment procedures and criteria.
Parents complain that some students below the age of six got admitted after manipulating their birth certificates.
A shopkeeper, whose son did not get admission because he was below six years, said [...]    [read more]

Of judgement and comments
Of late, more than Druk Star show and the contestants, the judges and their comments have become the talk of the town.
Many viewers of the show say the judges are unfair, biased and boast about themselves. It was learnt that the judges even received a written complaint signed by three people. The letter said Namkha [...]    [read more]

Trashigang gets one more milk processing unit
The construction of the second milk processing unit (MPU) in Trashigang in Buna under Samkhar Gewog is complete. It will become operational soon, according to the dzongkhag livestock officials.
The MPU will produce processed dairy products like cheese and butter after collecting milk from dairy groups from different gewogs.
Funded by Support Livestock Sector of the Government [...]    [read more]

Unhinged spending syndrome?
Bhutanese are consuming more than their income, according to Daw Tenzin, the MD of Royal Monetary Authority (RMA). Without consuming, the economy is left stale, but we are consuming more than what we can afford, he said.
He said Bhutanese love to drive expensive cars and build fancy houses whether they could afford them or not. [...]    [read more]

Bhutan News archive for 29 March 2010

March 29, 2010 - From

International Sources

Canada’s new law to shut doors on bogus refugees – The Gaea Times
February 10th, 2010 KATHMANDU – With the 16th summit of South Asian heads of states just over two months away, Nepal Wednesday asked Bhutan to take back the Bhutanese refugees who have been languishing in Nepal for nearly two decades.    [read more]

Travel and Tourism in Bhutan – new market analysis … – PR Inside
The Travel and Tourism in Bhutan report offers a comprehensive guide to the size and shape of the market at a national level. It provides the latest market size data (2002-2007), allowing you to identify the sectors driving growth. It identifies the …    [read more]

Cricket team off to Kuwait for ACC Trophy – Nepalnews.com
The UAE, Afghanistan, Malaysia, Bahrain and Bhutan are in group ´A´ of the tournament. The UAE are  four-time winners of the tournament. nepalnews.com Readers are kindly requested to avoid using offensive language and also refrain from issuing …    [read more]

Bird flu remains a threat: WHO – Thanhnien
There have also been reports of outbreaks of the virus in poultry and wild flocks in other parts of Southeast Asia, as well as in Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Israel and Nepal, it said. In a recent case, a three-year-old girl infected with the …    [read more]

Drangpon dies in road accident – Kuensel Online
29 March, 2010 – Lhuentse drangpon Karma Gyamtsho was killed yesterday after the Toyota Prado, he was driving, veered off the Thimphu-Punakha highway in Mendregang gewog, falling about 60 m below the road. He was 42. The accident had occurred at …    [read more]

IGNOU plans ICT education cluster for 5 countries – CIOL Network
The varsity, has already given a presentation outlining the details of the plan to parliamentarians of Bangladesh, Bhutan, the Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka at the first ever contact group meeting of parliamentarians on education organised by the …    [read more]

Bringing buckwheat back to life – Kuensel Online
29 March, 2010 – Popular items of Bhutanese cuisine at any major gathering, khuli (pancakes), puta (noodles … During the many food festivals held in Thimphu and Bumthang, the farmers sold various cakes priced between Nu 10 and Nu 150. “    [read more]

FM Shteinitz: Israel May Have to Retake Gaza – YESHIVA WORLD NEWS
… and Aaron, “elderly yidden, their 80s”, armed with nothing more than the truth and the knowledge that they are following Hashem’s instructions as they boldly stood before Paro, instructing him to adhere to HaKadosh Baruch Hu’s words.    [read more]

Immigrants try out Easter egg hunt at Americana – Courier-Journal
It was the same for Rabi and Uma Adhikari, who arrived from Bhutan with their three children just two months ago. Their Hindu religion also has nothing like an Easter egg hunt. “I don’t know that much, but I enjoy it here,” Rabi Adhikari said.    [read more]

Immigrants introduced to Easter egg hunts – Courier-Journal
It was the same for Rabi and Uma Adhikari who arrived from Bhutan with their three children just two months ago. Their Hindu religion also has nothing like an Easter egg hunt. “I don’t know that much, but I enjoy it here,” Rabi Adhikari said.    [read more]

Kuensel – Bhutan’s National Newspaper

Young woman hangs herself
29 March, 2010-A 29-year old woman was found in her home hanging from a door beam in Lobesa yesterday.

   [read more]

Drangpon dies in road accident
The crash site: The Toyota Prado fell about 60m below the road at Mendregang

29 March, 2010 – Lhuentse drangpon Karma Gyamtsho was killed yesterday after the Toyota Prado, he was driving, veered off the Thimphu-Punakha highway in Mendregang gewog, falling about 60 m below the road. He was 42.
   [read more]

Furore over farm road
An election promise whose fulfilment will not please everyone

29 March, 2010 – The villagers of Jomtsang in Udzorong gewog, Trashigang, were happy when their member of parliament (MP) promised them a farm road.
   [read more]

Picture story

29 March, 2010 – Around 1,500 people gathered at Dochula yesterday to attend the annual rio sangchoe (incense burning ritual) ceremony presided by his eminence Dungse Garab Dorji Rinpoche.
The ritual was organised by Chhoethuen Tshogpa, a Thimphu based religious organisation. “It is believed that conducting rio sangchoe on a mountain top will benefit all sentient beings from the scent of the incense carried by the wind,” said a member of the Tshogpa, Mahakala. About 600 nuns conducted the ritual.
   [read more]

Nationwide windstorm damage
29 March, 2010 – Strong winds whistling through the gaps between windows and doors kept many villagers in Bongo, Chukha, awake on the night of March 27, fearing a brewing storm.
   [read more]

Local business hit by trade fair

Paro Tsechu 29 March, 2010 –
Every spring, the Paro town comes alive for five days when visitors from all over the country, and the world, flock for the annual tsechu festival. It is a time for the religious to gain merit and blessings, and also enjoy the pleasures of travel.
   [read more]

Speeding up health services
First of five initiatives to improve medical delivery
The Present Situation: Patients dally lingering outside doctors’ chambers

29 March, 2010 – By June, patients visiting the Jigme Dorji Wangchuck national referral hospital (JDWNRH) will not have to wait an entire day to receive medical attention.
   [read more]

Bringing buckwheat back to life
A cereal that has everything for it is giving way to rice

29 March, 2010 – Popular items of Bhutanese cuisine at any major gathering, khuli (pancakes), puta (noodles) and kepta (a thick, crisp fried round biscuit), all made from buckwheat the Bumthap staple, were on the verge of vanishing from their menus.

   [read more]

When development divides
29 March, 2010 – Where development facilities should be located has always been controversial with the beneficiary communities wanting them as close as possible to their village.
   [read more]

Odd/even number traffic plan
Feel At Home: A SAARC banner is hung on the Thimphu – Babesa double lane road link

SAARC Summit 28 March, 2010 – Come the SAARC summit, the royal Bhutan police will be introducing a government approved traffic system, whereby only odd or even number vehicles will be allowed to ply in Thimphu on alternate days (see box) during the summit week.    [read more]

Bhutan Observer

Govt revives vegetable market
In December, 2006, a spacious vegetable shed was built in Pemagatshel town to enable farmers to sell their farm produce every Sunday. It lasted only for two weeks. An attempt to revive the Sunday market in August, 2008, failed.
The dzongkhag agriculture sector is once again planning to revive the Sunday market with different arrangements to [...]    [read more]

In Siddartha’s footsteps
If unbridled materialism is on the rise, Siddhartha-like spiritual realisation is still part of Bhutanese psyche. Jigme Wangchuk reports
Damchho Dorji, 25, from Pangsho village in Punakha, finds not much meaning in life. It’s the same nagging urge of Gautama that led him to renounce everything he had in life to join monkhood at Dzongsar Khyentse [...]    [read more]

Parents question school enrollment procedures
After 18 out of 105 applicants for pre-primary admission in Trashigang Middle Secondary School got rejected this year, parents are questioning enrollment procedures and criteria.
Parents complain that some students below the age of six got admitted after manipulating their birth certificates.
A shopkeeper, whose son did not get admission because he was below six years, said [...]    [read more]

Of judgement and comments
Of late, more than Druk Star show and the contestants, the judges and their comments have become the talk of the town.
Many viewers of the show say the judges are unfair, biased and boast about themselves. It was learnt that the judges even received a written complaint signed by three people. The letter said Namkha [...]    [read more]

Trashigang gets one more milk processing unit
The construction of the second milk processing unit (MPU) in Trashigang in Buna under Samkhar Gewog is complete. It will become operational soon, according to the dzongkhag livestock officials.
The MPU will produce processed dairy products like cheese and butter after collecting milk from dairy groups from different gewogs.
Funded by Support Livestock Sector of the Government [...]    [read more]

Unhinged spending syndrome?
Bhutanese are consuming more than their income, according to Daw Tenzin, the MD of Royal Monetary Authority (RMA). Without consuming, the economy is left stale, but we are consuming more than what we can afford, he said.
He said Bhutanese love to drive expensive cars and build fancy houses whether they could afford them or not. [...]    [read more]

Phuentsholing businesses hire illegal workers
Many Bhutanese traders in Phuentsholing employ foreign workers without proper work permits, according to Chhukha dzongkhag officials.
“When we inspect shops, we come across Bhutanese traders employing foreign workers without work permits claiming that they have been hired as day workers,” said Chhukha Dzongda Tshewang Rinzin.
Employing foreign workers as day workers is inappropriate as it is [...]    [read more]

Students showcase Bhutan in Australia
Bhutanese students in the University of New England in Australia participated in the Armidale Autumn Festival from March 19 to 22, which brought together thousands of people.
Dressed in gho and kira, the students walked the streets waving the national flag and banners. They sang Bhutanese songs and danced to showcase the unique culture of Bhutan [...]    [read more]

School observes world TB day
To commemorate the World Tuberculoses Day, students and teachers of Chhukha Higher Secondary School organised a symposium in the school. Senior Medical Officer of General Hospital in Tsimalakha, Dr Tej Nath Nepal, addressed the symposium on the origin, forms, causes and symptoms of the disease.
Students also took part in the programme by sharing their knowledge [...]    [read more]

Leaders, young and woman
As the annual gups’ conference this week brought together 199 gups to the capital, our reporter Namgay Tshering caught up with two of them
The first woman gup
Chengmari gup Meena Thapa is the first woman gup in the country. She studied up to Class VIII. The 37-year-old had served as a chimi before she was elected [...]    [read more]

Bhutan News archive for 28 March 2010

March 28, 2010 - From

International Sources

Gross National Health – Common Dreams
Consider the country of Bhutan that has organized their whole government around the intention of creating happiness for its citizens. A New York Times interview quoted Lyonpo Jigmi Thinley, Bhutan’s home minister and ex-prime minister as saying, “We …    [read more]

Top 10 scariest runways – Regina Leader-Post
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]

A garden of 1,000 Buddhas – Daily Interlake
After he was released, Rinpoche finished some projects, then left Tibet for Bhutan, India and then a monastery in Nepal. “I stayed at the monastery for 14 years,” he said. “I studied and help build the monastery.”  In the early 1990s …    [read more]

Colorado areas vary widely in rate of returning census … – Denver Post
Census partnership specialist Peter Lee said the low-income area has a large number of new immigrants from Burma, Bhutan and east Africa and a high turnover in apartments. “It is up a little bit, but not as much as we hoped,” Lee said. ”    [read more]

Coffee with Indira Gandhi – Kuensel Online
28 March, 2010 – As you drive by Paro airport’s runway, you might … travelled to 17 countries, including Iran, at a time when only very few Bhutanese had the privilege to step outside the borders of Bhutan. “It was a very hot place,” he says …    [read more]

5,000 more PIT taxpayers – Kuensel Online
The largest number of e filers, 1,055, were from Thimphu and the least, 25, from Samtse. Thimphu also had the highest number of taxpayers with 10,436 PIT filers, which is a third of all PIT payers in the country.    [read more]

Slow Travel – Manila Bulleting Online
As destinations once off the beaten track go mainstream, it’s only a matter of time before places like Antarctica, Patagonia and Bhutan begin sprouting chain hotels and fast food restaurants. Serious (and snobbish) travelers take this as a …    [read more]

Have a grrr…ate birthday! – The Sun
There are about 2,100 Bengal tigers in the wild, including 1,411 in India, 450 Bangladesh, 150 in Nepal and 100 in Bhutan.    [read more]

IGNOU plans ICT education cluster for five countries – Thaindian.com
The varsity, has already given a presentation outlining the details of the plan to parliamentarians of Bangladesh, Bhutan, the Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka at the first ever contact group meeting of parliamentarians on education organised by the …    [read more]

Private motion propaganda – Trinidad Express
Senator Merhair didn’t only quote a poem from Pakistan, but also travelled as far as the tiny Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan to support her argument that this fortunate and prosperous country owed a debt of gratitude to these four ’gentle giants …    [read more]

Kuensel – Bhutan’s National Newspaper

Odd/even number traffic plan
Feel At Home: A SAARC banner is hung on the Thimphu – Babesa double lane road link

SAARC Summit 28 March, 2010 – Come the SAARC summit, the royal Bhutan police will be introducing a government approved traffic system, whereby only odd or even number vehicles will be allowed to ply in Thimphu on alternate days (see box) during the summit week.    [read more]

Coffee with Indira Gandhi
Lam Tshering reminisces about his mask dancing days
Globetrotter Grounded “A poor villager able to travel the world free of cost”

28 March, 2010 – As you drive by Paro airport’s runway, you might have passed by Lam Tshering tilling his paddy fields.

Nothing about the 59-year old sunburned farmer strikes one as exceptional. But ask him a little about his past – and it’s a bagful of surprises, including an incident involving having coffee with Indira Gandhi.    [read more]

Dust Settler

28 March, 2010 – An Atsara demonstrates another use for a firefighting water bag during the Gomkora tshechu in Trashiyangtse dzongkhag    [read more]

Taksha–Sili gifted a stretcher
From Vermont To Wangdue: Catherine Wilcox with gup Wangchuk (R) and mangmi Nado

28 March, 2010 – When gup Wangchuk of Daga gewog in Wangduephodrang returns to his gewog from the annual gup’s conference, he will have a surprise package for his people.    [read more]

Situation under control
3D action does the trick

Bird Flu 28 March, 2010 – After culling 4,683 birds, disposing 778 eggs and burning and dismantling 533 coops between February 13 and March 25, the bird flu situation is finally under control.    [read more]

Man commits suicide
28 March, 2010 – A 40-year old man has committed suicide by hanging himslef from a tree at Tsehndendapsa, Thimphu on February 25.    [read more]

Chorten vandal gets life
28 March, 2010 – Trashigang dzongkhag court sentenced a 24-year old man to life imprisonment for vandalising a Jangchub chorten in Bartsham last year.    [read more]

5,000 more PIT taxpayers
28 March, 2010 – With the government salary increase at the beginning of last year, the number of taxpayers subject to personal income tax (PIT) could increase by 5,000 for the 2009 income year, say tax officials.    [read more]

Test run for LG elections
Biometric Voter ID System 28 March, 2010 – If budget is not a problem, the election commission of Bhutan (ECB) is ready to use the biometric voter identification system by the next general election in 2013.    [read more]

First READ library in Ura, Bumthang
A self help venture that the NGO hopes to replicate nationwide
Gup’s Office Refashioned: A library and women’s centre with a children section and an audiovisual room

28 March, 2010 – Bumthang’s Ura community will soon have a rural community library and resource centre (CLRC). The centre is being set up with the help of rural education and development (READ) Bhutan.    [read more]

Bhutan Observer

Trashigang gets one more milk processing unit
The construction of the second milk processing unit (MPU) in Trashigang in Buna under Samkhar Gewog is complete. It will become operational soon, according to the dzongkhag livestock officials.
The MPU will produce processed dairy products like cheese and butter after collecting milk from dairy groups from different gewogs.
Funded by Support Livestock Sector of the Government [...]    [read more]

Unhinged spending syndrome?
Bhutanese are consuming more than their income, according to Daw Tenzin, the MD of Royal Monetary Authority (RMA). Without consuming, the economy is left stale, but we are consuming more than what we can afford, he said.
He said Bhutanese love to drive expensive cars and build fancy houses whether they could afford them or not. [...]    [read more]

Phuentsholing businesses hire illegal workers
Many Bhutanese traders in Phuentsholing employ foreign workers without proper work permits, according to Chhukha dzongkhag officials.
“When we inspect shops, we come across Bhutanese traders employing foreign workers without work permits claiming that they have been hired as day workers,” said Chhukha Dzongda Tshewang Rinzin.
Employing foreign workers as day workers is inappropriate as it is [...]    [read more]

Students showcase Bhutan in Australia
Bhutanese students in the University of New England in Australia participated in the Armidale Autumn Festival from March 19 to 22, which brought together thousands of people.
Dressed in gho and kira, the students walked the streets waving the national flag and banners. They sang Bhutanese songs and danced to showcase the unique culture of Bhutan [...]    [read more]

School observes world TB day
To commemorate the World Tuberculoses Day, students and teachers of Chhukha Higher Secondary School organised a symposium in the school. Senior Medical Officer of General Hospital in Tsimalakha, Dr Tej Nath Nepal, addressed the symposium on the origin, forms, causes and symptoms of the disease.
Students also took part in the programme by sharing their knowledge [...]    [read more]


As the annual gups’ conference this week brought together 199 gups to the capital, our reporter Namgay Tshering caught up with two of them
The first woman gup
Chengmari gup Meena Thapa is the first woman gup in the country. She studied up to Class VIII. The 37-year-old had served as a chimi before she was elected [...]    [read more]

Gawai Charo and Mahakali reach semis
Gawai Charo won the fifth quarter-final match of the ongoing five men style archery tournament held in Phuentsholing on March 24.
Gawai Charo displayed an impressive show which Sharchhokha and Thaobakha could not contain. The team hit an impressive 40 kareys and went on to win unprecedented four games of seven points each in a match. [...]    [read more]

Transport United thrash Changzamtok
Transport United FC thrashed Changzamtok 5-1 on March 24 in the ongoing C division football championship at Changjiji ground in Thimphu.
Ugyen Phuntsho of Transport United scored an early goal in the second minute of the first half. Changzamtok responded within seconds with a goal from Tashi Dorji to level the game 1-1 in the third [...]    [read more]

Bhutan’s cricket team leaves for ACC Elite tournament
Bhutan’s senior national cricket team left for Kuwait yesterday to compete in the prestigious ACC Trophy Elite tournament, which will be held from March 31 to April 9.
The team, which comprise 14 players and three officials, is representing the nation for the first time in the tournament. The event has 10 nontest playing nations participating. [...]    [read more]

The journey must be made, but the fuel is low…
   [read more]

Bhutan News archive for 27 March 2010

March 27, 2010 - From

International Sources

A truly popular 5-day festival – Kuensel Online
Paro Tsechu 27 March, 2010 – Under a warm spring sun, and dressed in their finest ghos and kiras, Parops, pilgrims, and an almost equal number of tourists, celebrated the first day of Paro tsechu, Nangcham, witnessing sacred dances performed in the …    [read more]

Four fake graduate certificates to apply for teacher … – AsiaOne
Of the 160 shedra graduates from India, Bhutan and Nepal who had applied, 130 were short-listed for the written and viva tests held this week. About 34 of the 130 candidates, however, withdrew their applications before the written and oral tests.    [read more]

Travellers feel put upon – AsiaOne
Passengers feel that officials at checkposts were blindly following the home ministry’s orders, as though incapable of judging genuine Bhutanese from the … With the issue of maids being brought into Thimphu and Paro illegally, immigration officials …    [read more]

Welcome to Bhutan, the dragon kingdom of literary … – The Independent
The festival in Bhutan’s capital, Thimphu, aims to present the more positive aspects of Bhutanese culture. In addition to French, who in 2008 was a guest at the colourful coronation of King Wangchuck’s son, Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, the …    [read more]

Indian leaders shun SAARC Festival of Literature – Daily Times
… owned Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) and a non-governmental organisation (NGO) Foundation of SAARC Writers’ and Literature (FOSWAL), ahead of the SAARC summit in Bhutan next month. Renowned Pakistani journalist Hamid Mir was …    [read more]

SAARC CIOs come together: another first from 9.9 Media – PR Inside
With ample representation from five countries India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bhutan, this is the first time that a platform has been created for CIOs and senior technology decision makers at the SAARC region level. Given that several …    [read more]

The Gateway Hotels to partner Chennai Super Kings – PR Inside
… largest and finest group of hotels, comprising 67 hotels in 45 locations across India with an additional 16 international hotels in the Maldives, Malaysia, Australia, UK, USA, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Africa and the Middle East. From world-renowned …    [read more]

Asian states urged to ratify criminal court treaty – The Gaea Times
Representatives from South Asian nations – Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and Maldives – will participate in the round table discussion. Rights group criticises appointment of acting Nepal army chief October 24th, 2009 NEW DELHI – A …    [read more]

HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL CONCLUDES THIRTEENTH SESSION – UN News Centre
… outcomes of the reports of its Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review on Eritrea, Cyprus, Dominican Republic, Cambodia, Norway, Albania, Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Portugal, Bhutan, Dominica, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Brunei …    [read more]

Our Man in Jeddah – Town Hall
Most of the time, the diplomat would give the globe a spin, abruptly halting its motion to indicate Botswana, Bhutan, Brunei or whatever country he’d be calling home for the next few years. Shultz would shake his head. “No,” he would say. ”    [read more]

Kuensel – Bhutan’s National Newspaper

Picture story

27 March, 2010 – His Majesty the King speaks with gups yesterday. The elected gewog heads are in the capital for their annual conference.    [read more]

All about gups

27 March, 2010 – Contrary to popular perception, more than half the present 205 gups, elected gewog heads, have at least a basic primary level education.

About 37 gups have completed middle and higher secondary schools, while two have a bachelor’s degree and another two, a master’s degree.    [read more]

Insurance claim yet to be assessed
The fire broke out at 10 pm and burnt down the dining room and reception hall

Amankora Resort Fire 27 March, 2010 – The Bhutan insurance limited, which opened shop in August last year, will be paying its most substantive claim after a Thursday fire burnt down the dining room and reception hall of the high end AmanKora resort in Thimphu.    [read more]

A truly popular 5-day festival
Balcony Seats: A bird’s eye view of the Paro tsechu

Paro Tsechu 27 March, 2010 – Under a warm spring sun, and dressed in their finest ghos and kiras, Parops, pilgrims, and an almost equal number of tourists, celebrated the first day of Paro tsechu, Nangcham, witnessing sacred dances performed in the cobble-stoned courtyard of the Rinpung dzong.    [read more]

Gup between rich & poor
27 March, 2010 – Monetary incentives were high on local leaders’ agenda during their almost weeklong meeting in the capital.

Interviews in newspapers, panel discussions on national television and proposals to the prime minister, all highlighted its importance to our gups.
   [read more]

House gutted in Kyichu
Charred Remains: The only silver lining: the place was insured

27 March, 2010 – Barely a month after the Paro Jangsa fire, another family of six in Kyichu lost all their possessions, when their house was razed to the ground yesterday. No one was hurt in the fire.    [read more]

Thimphu marks Bangladesh National Day
The Bangladesh ambassador hoists the national flag

27 March, 2010 – The small Bangladesh community in Thimphu, joined by Bhutanese dignitaries, yesterday celebrated the 39th anniversary of the Independence and National Day of Bangladesh at the embassy ground.    [read more]

Picture story

26 March, 2010 – His Majesty The King graces the closing of the annual Talo Tshechu yesterday    [read more]

Four fakes confirmed
Only 72 of the 100 required Dzongkha teachers selected

Shedra Lopens Update 26 March, 2010 – Four shedra graduates, who had applied to become contract Dzongkha language teachers, are reported to have submitted fake graduate certificates along with their applications to the education ministry.    [read more]

Pollute less, profit more
Cleaner Technology and Environment Management 26 March, 2010 – While many Bhutanese industries have been in the news for their poor pollution standards and average balance sheets, some are looking at adopting a program that could address both issues.    [read more]

Bhutan Observer

Students showcase Bhutan in Australia
Bhutanese students in the University of New England in Australia participated in the Armidale Autumn Festival from March 19 to 22, which brought together thousands of people.
Dressed in gho and kira, the students walked the streets waving the national flag and banners. They sang Bhutanese songs and danced to showcase the unique culture of Bhutan [...]    [read more]

School observes world TB day
To commemorate the World Tuberculoses Day, students and teachers of Chhukha Higher Secondary School organised a symposium in the school. Senior Medical Officer of General Hospital in Tsimalakha, Dr Tej Nath Nepal, addressed the symposium on the origin, forms, causes and symptoms of the disease.
Students also took part in the programme by sharing their knowledge [...]    [read more]


As the annual gups’ conference this week brought together 199 gups to the capital, our reporter Namgay Tshering caught up with two of them
The first woman gup
Chengmari gup Meena Thapa is the first woman gup in the country. She studied up to Class VIII. The 37-year-old had served as a chimi before she was elected [...]    [read more]

Gawai Charo and Mahakali reach semis
Gawai Charo won the fifth quarter-final match of the ongoing five men style archery tournament held in Phuentsholing on March 24.
Gawai Charo displayed an impressive show which Sharchhokha and Thaobakha could not contain. The team hit an impressive 40 kareys and went on to win unprecedented four games of seven points each in a match. [...]    [read more]

Transport United thrash Changzamtok
Transport United FC thrashed Changzamtok 5-1 on March 24 in the ongoing C division football championship at Changjiji ground in Thimphu.
Ugyen Phuntsho of Transport United scored an early goal in the second minute of the first half. Changzamtok responded within seconds with a goal from Tashi Dorji to level the game 1-1 in the third [...]    [read more]

Bhutan’s cricket team leaves for ACC Elite tournament
Bhutan’s senior national cricket team left for Kuwait yesterday to compete in the prestigious ACC Trophy Elite tournament, which will be held from March 31 to April 9.
The team, which comprise 14 players and three officials, is representing the nation for the first time in the tournament. The event has 10 nontest playing nations participating. [...]    [read more]

The journey must be made, but the fuel is low…
   [read more]

HM graces Talo Tshechu
His Majesty the King graced the closing of the annual Talo Tshechu yesterday
   [read more]

How to weed out inefficiency
In the cabinet ministers’ meeting with the Bhutanese media on Wednesday, Prime Minister said that performance compacts he had signed with some of the ministers would be taken seriously. He said that, if the ministers failed to meet the targets stipulated by the compacts within a specified period, they would have to face reprimand, resignation [...]    [read more]

Gups’s conference concludes
Prime Minister addressed the closing session of the 6th annual gups’s conference in Thimphu yesterday. Reiterating the importance of gups in the gewogs, Prime Minister said failure of the local government would mean failure of the central government, which would lead to the failure of the country.
Lyonchhen said everyone should work together – the gewogs, [...]    [read more]

Bhutan News archive for 26 March 2010

March 26, 2010 - From

International Sources

SAARC CIOs come together: another first from 9.9 Media – PR Inside
With ample representation from five countries India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bhutan, this is the first time that a platform has been created for CIOs and senior technology decision makers at the SAARC region level. Given that several …    [read more]

Asian states urged to ratify criminal court treaty – The Gaea Times
Representatives from South Asian nations – Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and Maldives – will participate in the round table discussion. Rights group criticises appointment of acting Nepal army chief October 24th, 2009 NEW DELHI – A …    [read more]

The Gateway Hotels to partner Chennai Super Kings – PR Inside
… largest and finest group of hotels, comprising 67 hotels in 45 locations across India with an additional 16 international hotels in the Maldives, Malaysia, Australia, UK, USA, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Africa and the Middle East. From world-renowned …    [read more]

Tibetan monk convicted in secret trial, without due … – AsiaNews.IT
He is the nephew of the institute’s founder, Khenpo Jigme Phuntsok, a Buddhist scholar. Chinese authorities have repeatedly harassed Larung Gar. In 1999 and June 2001, they searched its premises. In April 2000, a government work team was sent to …    [read more]

Khenpo Jigme Phuntsok’s nephew sentenced to 7 years … – Phayul
Dharamsala, March 26 – A Chinese court in Sichuan Province has sentenced a Tibetan monk, whose whereabouts were unknown since July 2008, to seven years in prison and deprivation of political rights for a year, according to the Tibetan Centre for …    [read more]

Bhutan seeks help from India to contain drug … – Daily News and Analysis
Bhutanese health minister L Z Dupka told reporters here after meeting West Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee that “A joint initiative can help contain this menace along the border between the two countries to a great extent.” “The state …    [read more]

Bhutan Travel Tours – Gather.com
The Capital city to the small Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan, Thimphu is possibly the smallest capital in the world. Thimphu is a portico of conventional and time honored Bhutanese art, structural design, traditions, and rituals and on top of that all …    [read more]

Refugees receive assistance in job hunting – University Daily Kansan
… commutes Bhutanese refugees living in the Kansas City area to help prepare them for job opportunities. Zarda, Harvest Hiring owner and a 2009 School of Business graduate and KU almnus, drives employees like Shyiam Khanal, a refugee from Bhutan …    [read more]

Four fakes confirmed – Kuensel Online
Of the 160 shedra graduates from India, Bhutan and Nepal who had applied, 130 were short-listed for the written and viva tests held this week. About 34 of the 130 candidates, however, withdrew their applications before the written and oral tests.    [read more]

Benefits outweigh costs – Kuensel Online
The national service program, which was operational during the ‘70s and ‘80s, required Bhutanese post secondary graduates to carry out social work in rural Bhutan for six … that, when citizens from areas beyond Thimphu came to the office, “I …    [read more]

Kuensel – Bhutan’s National Newspaper

Picture story

26 March, 2010 – His Majesty The King graces the closing of the annual Talo Tshechu yesterday    [read more]

Four fakes confirmed
Only 72 of the 100 required Dzongkha teachers selected

Shedra Lopens Update 26 March, 2010 – Four shedra graduates, who had applied to become contract Dzongkha language teachers, are reported to have submitted fake graduate certificates along with their applications to the education ministry.    [read more]

Pollute less, profit more
Cleaner Technology and Environment Management 26 March, 2010 – While many Bhutanese industries have been in the news for their poor pollution standards and average balance sheets, some are looking at adopting a program that could address both issues.    [read more]

Gups wish list
26 March, 2010 – Local leaders asked the need for a salary raise at par with members of parliament, travel and daily allowances, vehicle mileage, mobile phone vouchers and need for study tours abroad.

A pay hike at par with parliament members, Lyonchhoen said, was difficult.    [read more]

PM brings gups up to speed
National policies and local responsibilities
Q&A: A gup responds to Lyonchhoen

6th Annual GYT & DYT Meeting 26 March, 2010 – As deciders of national policies and plans, the cabinet’s responsibilities are crucial, while those of the local leaders translate into something paramount, as they ensure that policies and plans are implemented across the country.    [read more]

Making greener pastures of grassroots
26 March, 2010 – The picture of working in a farm is not so appealing to Bhutanese jobseekers, even if they have the hardest time in urban centres staying with uncles and aunts. It is even worse if they have studied up to class X or XII, because then they are too qualified to work in farms.    [read more]

Overwhelmed by numbers
Limited facilities can’t handle the traffic

Serbithang Rehab Centre 26 March, 2010 – The only treatment and rehabilitation centre for drug and alcohol dependence in Serbithang, Thimphu, is in need of more space.    [read more]

Picture Story

26 March, 2010 – The week-long Phurba Dungdrup ( a million recitations of the vajra kiliya) at Kharchu monastery, Bumthang will end today with a wang (blessing) for the public.

The recitation was initiated by the Kharchu monastery under the direction of His Holiness, Namkhai Nyengpo Rinpoche, to dispel natural calamities. Thousands of devotes and school students participated in the recitation.

Photo by Wangchuk

   [read more]

First slump in 8 years
Profits dip by Nu 44 million; almost double interest paid on fixed deposits

Bhutan National Bank 26 March, 2010 – Foreign exchange movement, not performance, led to a slump in Bhutan National bank’s profits, the first time in eight years, say bank officials.

“If you exclude the foreign exchange (forex) component for 2008 and 2009, we’ve actually grown by more than 23 percent,” said BNB’s chief executive officer, Kipchu Tshering.    [read more]

Higher premium of rural housing insurance
6th Annual GYT & DYT Meeting 26 March, 2010 – After a quick preview on the aftermath of the earthquake damage to more than 1,000 houses in eastern Bhutan last year, gups realised that the premium paid on rural house insurance should be increased.
   [read more]

Bhutan Observer

Transport United thrash Changzamtok
Transport United FC thrashed Changzamtok 5-1 on March 24 in the ongoing C division football championship at Changjiji ground in Thimphu.
Ugyen Phuntsho of Transport United scored an early goal in the second minute of the first half. Changzamtok responded within seconds with a goal from Tashi Dorji to level the game 1-1 in the third [...]    [read more]

Bhutan’s cricket team leaves for ACC Elite tournament
Bhutan’s senior national cricket team left for Kuwait yesterday to compete in the prestigious ACC Trophy Elite tournament, which will be held from March 31 to April 9.
The team, which comprise 14 players and three officials, is representing the nation for the first time in the tournament. The event has 10 nontest playing nations participating. [...]    [read more]

The journey must be made, but the fuel is low…
   [read more]

HM graces Talo Tshechu
His Majesty the King graced the closing of the annual Talo Tshechu yesterday
   [read more]

How to weed out inefficiency
In the cabinet ministers’ meeting with the Bhutanese media on Wednesday, Prime Minister said that performance compacts he had signed with some of the ministers would be taken seriously. He said that, if the ministers failed to meet the targets stipulated by the compacts within a specified period, they would have to face reprimand, resignation [...]    [read more]

Gups’s conference concludes
Prime Minister addressed the closing session of the 6th annual gups’s conference in Thimphu yesterday. Reiterating the importance of gups in the gewogs, Prime Minister said failure of the local government would mean failure of the central government, which would lead to the failure of the country.
Lyonchhen said everyone should work together – the gewogs, [...]    [read more]

PM on performance compacts
The implementing authorities, upon failing to live up to the commitments made by signing a performance compact, will have the moral obligation of admitting that they have failed by submitting their resignation, receiving a reprimand or being embarrassed by the media, Prime Minister said at the cabinet’s monthly meeting with the press on Wednesday.
“If the [...]    [read more]

LG to give teeth to tenancy act
Minister for Works and Human Settlement, Lyonpo Yeshey Zimba, said on Wednesday that the responsibility of implementing the toothless Tenancy Act would be entirely given to the local governments.
“As a desperate measure, what the ministry is about to do is issue a directive to all the local governments to implement this on its behalf. There [...]    [read more]

Govt says 9% growth rate achievable
The annual growth rate of 9 percent is achievable although it fell short of the target in the past two years, according to the government.
The DPT government has achieved an average of 7 percent growth in two years against the 9 percent target its manifesto promised.
“Achieving growth rate of 9 percent is something that is [...]    [read more]

Is it right for local governments to decide CDG?
   [read more]

Bhutan News archive for 25 March 2010

March 25, 2010 - From

International Sources

Our Man in Jeddah – Town Hall
Most of the time, the diplomat would give the globe a spin, abruptly halting its motion to indicate Botswana, Bhutan, Brunei or whatever country he’d be calling home for the next few years. Shultz would shake his head. “No,” he would say. ”    [read more]

Bangladesh ‘can only benefit’ from Asian H’way: Quayes – Bangladesh News 24 hours
Allowing India, Nepal and Bhutan to use the Mongla Port will financially benefit the country. “When the democracy of the country is stumbling, prime minister Sheikh Hasina is working to bolster democracy and establishment of the rule of law”, Quayes …    [read more]

Singapore ready for this year’s ACC Trophy Elite … – New Kerala
Also on this week’s ACC Trophy Elite special show, Hong Kong vice-captain Roy Lamsam shares his thoughts on the UAE, Afghanistan, Malaysia, Bahrain and Bhutan which are the other sides in Group B alongwith Hong Kong. The 29-year-old said of the ICC …    [read more]

‘Bangladesh to benefit from Asian highway’ – Bangladesh News 24 hours
Allowing India, Nepal and Bhutan to use the Mongla Port will financially benefit the country. “When the democracy of the country is stumbling, prime minister Sheikh Hasina is working to bolster democracy and establishment of the rule of law”, Quayes …    [read more]

Ethnomusicologist to lecture on Bhutan – Santa Cruz Sentinel
… Research Center has made it its mission to document the traditional folk music of Bhutan. Ethnomusicologist Janet Herman and photographer Jane Hancock, both of the center, will present a multi-media lecture on Bhutanese culture and music Sunday …    [read more]

Cultural spotlight is on South Asia: ICCR chief – New Kerala
He said the literature festival was the only platform where smaller nations like Bhutan, Myanmar, Afghanistan, Maldives and Nepal can find representation. “Countries like Bangladesh and Pakistan get opportunities to come to India, but one rarely …    [read more]

Corporate key to commercial success – Kuensel Online
… Sonam Wangchuk said.  He also said that, with the country gaining much international admiration as an exotic tourist destination, the unit could also tap into health tourism.  “We can provide traditional therapies, herbal bath, Bhutanese …    [read more]

PM sees no option at present – Kuensel Online
State Funding For Parties 25 March, 2010 – Only state funding can rescue Bhutan’s bankrupt political parties, prime minister Lyonchhoen Jigmi Y Thinley yesterday insisted, when he met the Bhutanese media during a two-hour meeting with the cabinet …    [read more]

PowerGrid plans FPO in Sept; 7,500 km lines top agenda – Economic Times
We are currently working in Bhutan, Nepal, Afghanistan, UAE, Nigeria and many other countries. Last year, we further broadened our customer base internationally by securing an engineering consultancy assignment for two 400kV GIS sub-stations and …    [read more]

Refugees receive assistance in job hunting – University Daily Kansan
… commutes Bhutanese refugees living in the Kansas City area to help prepare them for job opportunities. Zarda, Harvest Hiring owner and a 2009 School of Business graduate and KU almnus, drives employees like Shyiam Khanal, a refugee from Bhutan …    [read more]

Kuensel – Bhutan’s National Newspaper

Travellers feel put upon
In their zeal to follow orders, checkpoints go by the book
En Garde! Immigration officers check passenger IDs on a bus to Thimphu

Phuentsholing Security 25 March, 2010 – As security and immigration officials in Phuentsholing tighten security at checkpoints along the highways leading to other parts of the country, as a part of the safety measure for the upcoming SAARC summit, travellers feel unnecessarily harassed.    [read more]

PM sees no option at present
Till democracy takes root in popular culture, says Lyonchhoen, parties will need state support
Open To Inquiry: The prime minister and cabinet ministers field questions from the media

State Funding For Parties 25 March, 2010 – Only state funding can rescue Bhutan’s bankrupt political parties, prime minister Lyonchhoen Jigmi Y Thinley yesterday insisted, when he met the Bhutanese media during a two-hour meeting with the cabinet.    [read more]

Incorporating GNH into economy
Green and sustainable economic activities to be backed with incentives

Economic Development Policy 25 March, 2010 – Much has been done to beef up the country’s economy, just as much has been said about the need to protect its environment that is underpinned by the gross national happiness (GNH) philosophy.

Lyonchhoen Jigmi Y Thinley said the government would incorporate the GNH philosophy into the country’s economic policies to promote a ‘green and sustainable economy’.    [read more]

Volunteers clean up capital
Painting The Town Red: Youngers engage in beautifying Thimphu for the upcoming summit

SAARC Summit 25 March, 2010 – Unemployed Thimphu youth have found a way to participate in the upcoming 16th SAARC summit. 77 students, including school dropouts, who are in the capital on the look out for jobs, have volunteered to help beautify the city.    [read more]

Coming out of the cabinet
25 March, 2010 – Yesterday afternoon, the prime minister and several cabinet ministers spent more than two hours answering queries of journalists from the local print and broadcast media.    [read more]

Dropping out with a difference
Having forgone higher education, Patsaling students prosper on the old homestead
No Regrets: There is life out there (on the farm) and a good one

25 March, 2010 – If you thought that education was all about getting a job and make a living, then the school dropouts of Patsaling, a Sherpa community in Tsirang, might want to make you think again.    [read more]

A positive step towards transparency
Monthly Meet The Press 25 March, 2010 – In what is a positive development towards making the government functioning transparent, the prime minister Lyonchhoen Jigme Y Thinley and his cabinet will meet the press every month to answer queries from journalists.    [read more]

Corporate key to commercial success
The unit’s business interests stifled by bureaucracy

Institute Of Traditional Medicine Services 25 March, 2010 – Having functioned as a government entity for more than 15 years, pharmaceutical and research unit officials under the institute of traditional medicine services (ITMS) see the unit’s corporatisation as their only way forward.    [read more]

Riding out into the sunset

Put Out To Pasture: In danger of being made redundant with improved road network

Bumthang Horses 25 March, 2010 – It is a common sight for people travelling to the east via Bumthang, or while touring the valley, to find a caravan of horses around a sharp bend on the highway.    [read more]

Farmer wins Haa marathon
World Tuberculosis Day 25 March, 2010 – It’s unusual for a farmer to even partake in a marathon, and more so when he wins the race.    [read more]

Bhutan Observer

GNH and Democracy in Bhutan
Bhutan will set new standards if it ensures that delivery processes in critical areas succeed in generating collective happiness, writes Malvika Singh
It is heartening to watch, witness and listen to leaders obsessed and committed to developing mechanisms and processes by which they can administer their country and bring ‘collective happiness’ to their people within the [...]    [read more]

Organic farming: Let’s cash in on the demand
The world is going gaga over organic farming. Growing organic, consuming organic and selling organic.
The value of organic vegetables has increased in the past few years. People have increasingly come to understand the ill effects of vegetables grown using chemical pesticides, fertilizers and other allied chemicals.
Because organic vegetables are grown using local organic farm yard [...]    [read more]

Peling and Destroyer win
In the morning match on March 17, Peling won two seven-point games to win the match against Singngar Druk­pa and Gawai Charo in the league phase of the ongoing Five Men Style Archery Tour­nament in Phuentsholing.
Peling earned 6 points, and since Singngar Drukpa and Gawai Charo could not win any game, 4 and 2 points [...]    [read more]

Land compensation not fair
Sir,
The National Land Commission’s (NLC) plan to compensate land owners for the land to be acquired for government projects is not fair.
The rates for the rural areas are very low and this will not at all suffice for the affected lands. The best option should be land substitution. Land is a property that can be [...]    [read more]

Issuing of dishonoured cheques punishable
 With a cheque in hand, Dorji Gyeltshen, a private firm employee, waited in queue for over an hour at the bank counter only to find that there was no money in the account.
He was issued a cheque of Nu 55,000 by a local book vendor. He went back to the shopkeeper who issued an­other cheque [...]    [read more]

The dasho lives on
 At the approach of his 18th death anniversary on March 21, Dasho Keiji Nishioka is still remembered with gratitude by Panbang farmers. Rabi C Dahal reports
 Dasho Keiji Nishioka, known throughout Bhutan as Dasho Nish­ioka, died 18 years ago.
His house in Panbang is falling into ruins but memo­ries of 28 years of his selfless dedication for [...]    [read more]

Education official sentenced
 The Thimphu dzongkhag court sentenced Ngawang Dorji, Deputy Chief Pro­gramme Officer of Non-formal Education and Continuing Division under the Ministry of Education, to one year and three months in prison for forgery, official misconduct and embezzlement.
As provided under section 28 of the Penal Code of Bhu­tan, the accused was ordered to pay Nu 45,000 in [...]    [read more]

Engineers train carpenters, masons
In an effort to enable rural masons and carpenters to build safer homes, a series of training was held in the six eastern dzongkhags recently. This was prompted by the widespread destruction to homes and other infrastructures by the recent earthquakes in the east.
About 130 rural masons and carpenters from Pemagatshel and Samdrup Jongkhar were [...]    [read more]

Pyramid schemes illegal, RMA
Pyramid or Ponzi schemes like Basil International Limit­ed, SkyquestCom, Goldquest, Amway, or similar networks are considered illegal in the country and subject to per­secution for fraud under the country’s law, according to RMA officials.
RMA officials say people should beware of any scheme that requires money invest­ment in a franchise that gives you commissions for recruit­ing [...]    [read more]

Snooker business picking up
At this time of the year, snook­er rooms in Thimphu, espe­cially at the Zangtopelri Com­plex, are packed with people, some waiting for hours until they get a chance to pull a cue stick.
Students, monks, drivers, jobseekers, and office goers are the main customers in the snooker rooms.
“You have to reach here before offices and schools [...]    [read more]

Bhutan News archive for 24 March 2010

March 24, 2010 - From

International Sources

High school puts its eggs in a high-tech basket – Chicago Tribune
Senior Devi Dhital, a native of Bhutan who came to the U.S. recently from Nepal as part of the Catholic Charities Refugee Resettlement Program, thought similarly. “They’re pretty much guardians rather than teachers,” he said. Officials say they are …    [read more]

The almanac – United Press International
And, the remote Himalayan monarchy of Bhutan had its first parliamentary elections and attracted nearly 80 percent of its eligible voters. In 2009, amid dire economic warnings in Eastern and Central Europe, financial turmoil was blamed for toppling …    [read more]

Globalization Critic Noreena Hertz – Der Spiegel
Only Bhutan is an exception. SPIEGEL ONLINE: According to the constitution of Bhutan, the people should not become richer every year, but happier. The little Asian kingdom wants to achieve this with a socially equitable society and better protection …    [read more]

WHO says bird flu still a threat – Manila Times
Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, India, Israel, Myanmar, Nepal, and Vietnam have all reported outbreaks of the disease in poultry or wild bird flocks. The international health body noted that “people often are falling sick and dying in the same areas …    [read more]

Double Happiness at Merit Kabob and Dumpling Palace – Village Voice
The second, smaller booth in the back is called, variously, Dumpling Palace, Tashi Delek Momo, or Namaste, owned by a Nepali family that offers Nepalese, Tibetan, and Bhutanese specialties. Neither spot could be called the very best restaurant of its …    [read more]

WHO says avian influenza still a threat worldwide – Balita News
So far in 2010 Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, India, Israel, Myanmar, Nepal, and Viet Nam have all reported outbreaks of the disease in poultry or wild bird flocks, highlighting the fact that people often are falling sick and dying in the same areas …    [read more]

Pakistan ‘snubs’ India’s offer for next round of … – Daily Times
NEW DELHI: Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao may not travel to Islamabad now, as Pakistan has given a ‘cold shoulder’ to the idea of the second round of official-level talks ahead of the SAARC summit in Bhutan from April 28 to 29. Pakistan …    [read more]

800 varsities, 35,000 colleges needed in next 10 years … – Economic Times
Sibal was speaking at the first contact group meeting of Parliamentarians for Education of the UNESCO South Asia Cluster, in which delegates from Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka and other south Asian countries participated.    [read more]

Bird flu remains a threat: WHO – YAHOO!
There have also been reports of outbreaks of the virus in poultry and wild flocks in other parts of Southeast Asia, as well as in Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Israel and Nepal, it said. Last week, a three-year-old Vietnamese girl stricken with the …    [read more]

Bird flu still a threat to human health: WHO – Hindustan Times
It added that Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, India, Israel, Myanmar, Nepal and Vietnam have reported outbreaks of the disease in poultry or wild bird flocks. WHO said the presence of H5N1 in poultry poses a health risk to humans, who could get …    [read more]

Kuensel – Bhutan’s National Newspaper

No green light for LG elections
Without a local governance act, there can be no electoral action
Aides In Waiting: Local government elections are now long overdue

Annual Gup’s Conference 24 March, 2010 – The long delayed local government elections saw renewed debate yesterday at the annual gup’s conference in Thimphu, when gewog heads asked the chief election commissioner (CEC) if there would ever be an election of local leaders.    [read more]

Pre-construction to kick of soon
Punatsangchu II and Mangdechu Hydropower Projects 24 March, 2010 – Pre-construction work on the 990 MW Punatsangchu II and 720 MW Mangdechu hydroelectric projects is to start immediately, with Bhutan’s department of energy signing agreements with two government of India public sector undertakings in New Delhi yesterday.    [read more]

Tour operator found guilty
USD 89,000 Forgery Case 24 March, 2010 – Thimphu dzongkhag court sentenced tour operator Dechen Pelden of Insider Bhutan Tours to three years prison without bail for the offence of forging bank statement and credit advice slips, relating to a banking transaction worth USD 89,000 (Nu 4 million) from the Bhutan National bank (BNB).    [read more]

Claims 30 lives a year in Bhutan
World TB Day 24 March, 2010 – Until 2008, Passang, a 22-year old class XII student, had only heard of tuberculosis (TB).

Little did she know that skipping meals and smoking more than ten cigarettes a day would one day send her among other TB patients.    [read more]

Child dies in tragic accident
24 March, 2010 – A two-year-old was strangulated to death while playing in his house in Tsirang yesterday afternoon.    [read more]

Gups are here to stay
24 March, 2010 – Local leaders are here in the capital and they bring with them issues pertaining to their roles and responsibilities, which seem to have been muddled in the country’s transition to democracy.

Gup elections in gewogs have been shelved for the last two years and the authorities are still uncertain about when their elections will be held.    [read more]

Wanted: A hand at the helm
Department of Information & Technology 24 March, 2010 – Despite IT (information technology) being a core component for Bhutan’s development goals, the information arm of the government has been operating without a head for almost four months – an absence that is hindering the agency’s daily operations.
   [read more]

Size matters for CDG
Gups raise issue of equal grant, number of gewogs in a dzongkhag regardless
Mixing It Up: Gups invite MPs to attend gewog yargay tshogdeys

Annual Gup’s Conference 24 March, 2010 – If the passage of the constituency development grant (CDG) was controversial, its beneficiaries are claiming that the distribution of the fund is unfair.    [read more]

Plastic Paro despite PET plant
Until people learn to segregate their waste, the crushing facility will remain idle

24 March, 2010 – Paro dzongkhag boasts a functional PET (polyethylene terephthalate) bottle crushing facility in Tshongdue town, but the town is not able to get rid of the plastic bottles.    [read more]

Raw material import eats into profits
National Institute Of Traditional Medicines 24 March, 2010 – The pharmaceutical and research unit under the national institute of traditional medicines (NITM) imports from India only 64 of the total 264 ingredients to manufacture traditional medicines. Yet, in terms of expenditure, the imported ingredients cost far exceeds those bought locally.    [read more]

Bhutan Observer

Land compensation not fair
Sir,
The National Land Commission’s (NLC) plan to compensate land owners for the land to be acquired for government projects is not fair.
The rates for the rural areas are very low and this will not at all suffice for the affected lands. The best option should be land substitution. Land is a property that can be [...]    [read more]

Issuing of dishonoured cheques punishable
 With a cheque in hand, Dorji Gyeltshen, a private firm employee, waited in queue for over an hour at the bank counter only to find that there was no money in the account.
He was issued a cheque of Nu 55,000 by a local book vendor. He went back to the shopkeeper who issued an­other cheque [...]    [read more]

The dasho lives on
 At the approach of his 18th death anniversary on March 21, Dasho Keiji Nishioka is still remembered with gratitude by Panbang farmers. Rabi C Dahal reports
 Dasho Keiji Nishioka, known throughout Bhutan as Dasho Nish­ioka, died 18 years ago.
His house in Panbang is falling into ruins but memo­ries of 28 years of his selfless dedication for [...]    [read more]

Education official sentenced
 The Thimphu dzongkhag court sentenced Ngawang Dorji, Deputy Chief Pro­gramme Officer of Non-formal Education and Continuing Division under the Ministry of Education, to one year and three months in prison for forgery, official misconduct and embezzlement.
As provided under section 28 of the Penal Code of Bhu­tan, the accused was ordered to pay Nu 45,000 in [...]    [read more]

Engineers train carpenters, masons
In an effort to enable rural masons and carpenters to build safer homes, a series of training was held in the six eastern dzongkhags recently. This was prompted by the widespread destruction to homes and other infrastructures by the recent earthquakes in the east.
About 130 rural masons and carpenters from Pemagatshel and Samdrup Jongkhar were [...]    [read more]

Pyramid schemes illegal, RMA
Pyramid or Ponzi schemes like Basil International Limit­ed, SkyquestCom, Goldquest, Amway, or similar networks are considered illegal in the country and subject to per­secution for fraud under the country’s law, according to RMA officials.
RMA officials say people should beware of any scheme that requires money invest­ment in a franchise that gives you commissions for recruit­ing [...]    [read more]

Snooker business picking up
At this time of the year, snook­er rooms in Thimphu, espe­cially at the Zangtopelri Com­plex, are packed with people, some waiting for hours until they get a chance to pull a cue stick.
Students, monks, drivers, jobseekers, and office goers are the main customers in the snooker rooms.
“You have to reach here before offices and schools [...]    [read more]

Fallow fields and dying trees
 With paddy fields being left fallow for lack of irrigation water and mandarin trees ravaged by citrus diseases, Panbang farmers are worried about their livelihood. Rabi C Dahal reports from Panbang
When the 5th five-year plan started, many farmers in Ngangla Gewog in Panbang stopped growing paddy due to short­age of irrigation water.
When the water shortage [...]    [read more]

Gonpasingma’s wintry water woes
Karma, a shopkeeper in Gonpasingma village, makes frequent visits to the Pemagatshel town, almost every second or third day.
his is not something he likes to do, but he has no choice. He travels some 15 km to fetch water for domestic consumption in his pickup truck. Like him, others take their power tillers filled with [...]    [read more]

Pioneer in entertainment industry
A recipient of a gold medal, a composer, singer, performer, and film director, Tashi Nor­bu, 50, is a pioneer in Bhuta­nese entertainment industry.
The Managing Director and owner of Tashi Nyencha En­tertainment Company, Tashi Norbu started the entertain­ment group in 1987 with four people.
They composed traditional songs, tunes and redesigned a few traditional musical in­struments. They [...]    [read more]

Bhutan News archive for 23 March 2010

March 23, 2010 - From

International Sources

New info highway to link neighbours – The Daily Star
The government’s vision of a “digital Bangladesh” came a step nearer yesterday when the Executive Committee on National Economic Council approved a Tk 29 crore project to establish an information highway with India, Nepal and Bhutan. Fifty-five …    [read more]

Power distribution gets Tk 1750 crore boost – Bangladesh News 24 hours
The Tk 29 crore project involves cooperation in the realm of ICT among Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Bhutan.    [read more]

NHPC signs pact with Bhutan for hydel power project – Press Trust of India
New Delhi, Mar 23 (PTI) Power company NHPC Ltd today said it has signed an agreement with the Bhutan government for providing engineering and consultancy services for the 720 MW Mangdechhu hydroelectric project in the neighbouring country. “NHPC Ltd …    [read more]

Japan baby-robot teaches parenting skills – canada.com
Japan is already famous for highly sophisticated robots, from Honda’s humanoid Asimo to pancake-flipping chef Motoman to Paro the fluffy robot seal that helps ease loneliness among the elderly. Hundreds of thousands of industrial robots toil in …    [read more]

African Travel & Asian Bound – e-Travel Blackboard
We have also highlighted other areas in the Sub-continent – Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and the Maldives. All of which are covered in our brochure and can be found on our web site. What sets Asian Bound Holidays apart is our friendly, enthusiastic and …    [read more]

NHPC signs consultancy deal with Bhutan govt – New Kerala
New Delhi, Mar 23 : NHPC, the country’s largest hydropower producer, today signed an agreement with the government of Bhutan for providing engineering and consultancy services, relating to pre-construction activities of Mangdechhu Hydroelectric …    [read more]

India to provide duty-free access to LDCs products – New Nation
Such a facility has been offered to 14 LDCs including Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Cambodia and some of the African nations.    [read more]

AU: Blueberry harvest spread – FreshPlaza
… s dominant grower, Corindi’s Berry Exchange, said with 2000 people on their books they have had no problem in finding pickers but had noticed a cultural shift, with more Bhutanese and other Asian migrants joining Sikh and African pickers among …    [read more]

Bhutanese oranges for Bangladesh – FreshPlaza
Bhutan will export oranges and other horticultural products to Bangladesh through India’s northeastern states, officials have said. “The first consignment of oranges would be exported to Sylhet in Bangladesh soon through the Dawki land customs …    [read more]

Child Soldiers – Vision Insights and New Horizons
In Bhutan, Burundi, Myanmar, El Salvador, Ethiopia and Mozambique, says Wessells, children have even been kidnapped while at school. And the “Child Soldiers Report 2008” notes that the same is true in Bangladesh and Pakistan. Warlords in …    [read more]

Kuensel – Bhutan’s National Newspaper

The old guard in a new era
Greater responsibility, less authority?
Finding Their Feet: Can local governance and party politics remain mutually exclusive?

Annual Gup’s Conference 23 March, 2010 –

Gups, elected gewog heads, from 199 gewogs are in Thimphu to discuss and resolve various local government issues, but mainly to understand where they stand in the new political structure.

   [read more]

Tsirang forest fire
Breaking News 23 March, 2010 –

A two-storied house was reduced to ashes, along with three goats and a calf, which were burnt to death, in a forest fire in Rangthaling gewog, Tsirang.
   [read more]

No news but bad news
Pentavalent Update 23 March, 2010 –

With only a month remaining for the investigations into the pentavalent vaccine to be over, parents, who lost their newborns, allegedly to the vaccine after they were inoculated with it, are restless to learn of developments.
   [read more]

Thimphu-Wangdue tunnel feasible
Initial cost estimated at Nu 4.7 billion
The Shape Of Things To Come? : If the tunnel project comes through, it will need drills like this

Tunnel Update 23 March, 2010 –

The Thimphu-Wangduephodrang tunnel is feasible, according to the Norwegian geotechnical institute team, who completed the first stage of their feasibility report.

   [read more]

Testing the waters
Coliform kits distributed to all Chukha schools
Failed The Test Wangdigatshel CPS’s drinking water supply was found to be contaminated

World Water Day 23 March, 2010 –

Students of Wangdigatshel community primary school, about four kilometres from Phuentsholing town have had access to drinking water since 2004, but …

   [read more]

First to focus on women and children
Bhutan Multiple Indicator Survey 23 March, 2010 –

Come mid April and enumerators will start knocking on doors of 15,000 households across the country gathering data on mortality, nutrition, health, literacy and education and living conditions of Bhutanese women and children.
   [read more]

Keeping LG elections apolitical
23 March, 2010 – Elected leaders from the gewogs donning the khamar are in the capital. This reminds us that we have unfinished business as far as democracy in Bhutan is concerned.    [read more]

Alcoholism: A sensible solution
Alcohol Use In Bhutan 22 March, 2010 –

Being deeply rooted into the country’s customs and woven into its culture, rules and measures to dissuade Bhutanese from excessive alcohol consumption continue to pose the government a major challenge.    [read more]

Taking quality control seriously
WHO manufacturing guidelines being followed

National Institute Of Traditional Medicines 22 March, 2010 –

Recently an ulcer patient, who resorted to traditional medicines for its supposedly lesser side effects, asked a national institute of traditional medicines (NITM) official why the same medicine prescribed delivered different results.

   [read more]

Picture story

22 March, 2010 – A Penning For Your Thoughts: Lyonpo Thakur Singh Powdyel joins some budding bards yesterday in celebrating the World Poetry Day.

   [read more]

Bhutan Observer

Land compensation not fair
Sir,
The National Land Commission’s (NLC) plan to compensate land owners for the land to be acquired for government projects is not fair.
The rates for the rural areas are very low and this will not at all suffice for the affected lands. The best option should be land substitution. Land is a property that can be [...]    [read more]

Issuing of dishonoured cheques punishable
 With a cheque in hand, Dorji Gyeltshen, a private firm employee, waited in queue for over an hour at the bank counter only to find that there was no money in the account.
He was issued a cheque of Nu 55,000 by a local book vendor. He went back to the shopkeeper who issued an­other cheque [...]    [read more]

The dasho lives on
 At the approach of his 18th death anniversary on March 21, Dasho Keiji Nishioka is still remembered with gratitude by Panbang farmers. Rabi C Dahal reports
 Dasho Keiji Nishioka, known throughout Bhutan as Dasho Nish­ioka, died 18 years ago.
His house in Panbang is falling into ruins but memo­ries of 28 years of his selfless dedication for [...]    [read more]

Education official sentenced
 The Thimphu dzongkhag court sentenced Ngawang Dorji, Deputy Chief Pro­gramme Officer of Non-formal Education and Continuing Division under the Ministry of Education, to one year and three months in prison for forgery, official misconduct and embezzlement.
As provided under section 28 of the Penal Code of Bhu­tan, the accused was ordered to pay Nu 45,000 in [...]    [read more]

Engineers train carpenters, masons
In an effort to enable rural masons and carpenters to build safer homes, a series of training was held in the six eastern dzongkhags recently. This was prompted by the widespread destruction to homes and other infrastructures by the recent earthquakes in the east.
About 130 rural masons and carpenters from Pemagatshel and Samdrup Jongkhar were [...]    [read more]

Pyramid schemes illegal, RMA
Pyramid or Ponzi schemes like Basil International Limit­ed, SkyquestCom, Goldquest, Amway, or similar networks are considered illegal in the country and subject to per­secution for fraud under the country’s law, according to RMA officials.
RMA officials say people should beware of any scheme that requires money invest­ment in a franchise that gives you commissions for recruit­ing [...]    [read more]

Snooker business picking up
At this time of the year, snook­er rooms in Thimphu, espe­cially at the Zangtopelri Com­plex, are packed with people, some waiting for hours until they get a chance to pull a cue stick.
Students, monks, drivers, jobseekers, and office goers are the main customers in the snooker rooms.
“You have to reach here before offices and schools [...]    [read more]

Fallow fields and dying trees
 With paddy fields being left fallow for lack of irrigation water and mandarin trees ravaged by citrus diseases, Panbang farmers are worried about their livelihood. Rabi C Dahal reports from Panbang
When the 5th five-year plan started, many farmers in Ngangla Gewog in Panbang stopped growing paddy due to short­age of irrigation water.
When the water shortage [...]    [read more]

Gonpasingma’s wintry water woes
Karma, a shopkeeper in Gonpasingma village, makes frequent visits to the Pemagatshel town, almost every second or third day.
his is not something he likes to do, but he has no choice. He travels some 15 km to fetch water for domestic consumption in his pickup truck. Like him, others take their power tillers filled with [...]    [read more]

Pioneer in entertainment industry
A recipient of a gold medal, a composer, singer, performer, and film director, Tashi Nor­bu, 50, is a pioneer in Bhuta­nese entertainment industry.
The Managing Director and owner of Tashi Nyencha En­tertainment Company, Tashi Norbu started the entertain­ment group in 1987 with four people.
They composed traditional songs, tunes and redesigned a few traditional musical in­struments. They [...]    [read more]

Bhutan News archive for 22 March 2010

March 22, 2010 - From

International Sources

Bhutan business team coming to North-East – Hindu Business Line
Kolkata: To enlarge bilateral trade relations between Bhutan and North East India, North Eastern Development Finance Corporation Ltd (NEDFi) is coordinating the visit of a Bhutanese Business Delegation with the support of the Ministry of Development …    [read more]

India-Nepal bhai-bhai – Asian Age
… made a beginning in 2007 by placing it under the Sashastra Seema Bal  (SSB), a recently-reconstituted border guarding and lead intelligence force for the Indo-Nepal and Indo-Bhutan frontiers. Obviously much still remains to be done, not …    [read more]

Axial Vector Energy Corporation Announces Receipt of … – Automotive Industries Online
We are impressed with Kirloskar’s technical progress and are equally gratified by the level of interest in the SAARC countries (India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Maldives, Bangladesh and Pakistan) that Kirloskar will be generating for our product line …    [read more]

March 22, 9:12 AM – Harper’s Magazine
Like many Maritimers, the Bhutanese believe that there is such a thing as “enough,” and that the essence of happiness and wisdom lies in wanting what you have. – “Hedonic Indicators: Bhutan takes the next step in democratizing happiness …    [read more]

Bangladesh says China to help in port expansion – Reuters India
Hasina has also agreed to allow India, Nepal and Bhutan use Chittagong port to boost regional trade and cooperation. The government says use of the port by neighbours would generate revenue and help development. The opposition Bangladesh Nationalist …    [read more]

Honeymooners can ‘car pool’ across Europe – IndiaTimes
… of the Dooars at the foothills of the Himalayas, the forests of Bodoland in Lower Assam’s Kokrajhar district and reached Phuntsholing on the edge of Bhutan. From there, I proceeded to Thimphu, the Bhutan capital,” the writer told IANS, mapping …    [read more]

World Bank to provide $257 M for Bangladesh’s power … – MoneyControl.com
She also suggested importing hydroelectricity from neighbouring countries like Nepal and Bhutan that have the potential to export up to 24,000 mw of electricity. “These sources can be an affordable and cost effective option for Bangladesh.”    [read more]

Bangladeshi PM, Bhutanese King condole Koirala’s demise – Nepalnews.com
Bhutan and Bangladesh have sent separate condolence messages expressing sadness … Similarly, condolence messages by Bhutanese monarch Jigme Khesar Namgyal Wangchuk and the country’s Prime Minister Jigmi Thinley mention that demise of Koirala is not …    [read more]

River offerings to ward off disaster – The Age
One blood relic has been lent by the King of Thailand, others come from Burma, India, Sri Lanka, Cambodia and Bhutan. The relics have been on display at Glen Waverley, drawing thousands of Buddhists, according to Kadhampa Melbourne spokesman Ted Chen …    [read more]

Bill on increasing number of MPs in Tibetan parliament … – Daily News and Analysis
The proposed legislation seeks to increase the number of representatives from North America from the existing one to two and create a new seat to represent Tibetans from the rest of the world excluding Europe, India, Nepal and Bhutan. Twenty six …    [read more]

Kuensel – Bhutan’s National Newspaper

Alcoholism: A sensible solution
Alcohol Use In Bhutan 22 March, 2010 –

Being deeply rooted into the country’s customs and woven into its culture, rules and measures to dissuade Bhutanese from excessive alcohol consumption continue to pose the government a major challenge.    [read more]

Taking quality control seriously
WHO manufacturing guidelines being followed

National Institute Of Traditional Medicines 22 March, 2010 –

Recently an ulcer patient, who resorted to traditional medicines for its supposedly lesser side effects, asked a national institute of traditional medicines (NITM) official why the same medicine prescribed delivered different results.

   [read more]

Picture story

22 March, 2010 – A Penning For Your Thoughts: Lyonpo Thakur Singh Powdyel joins some budding bards yesterday in celebrating the World Poetry Day.

   [read more]

The GAO who taught a gewog to grow again
Patsaling comes back to life post cardamom demise
Passang Zangmo Sherpa and her one-acre vegetable garden

22 March, 2010 –
Cardamom was the only crop, grown on a large scale by the farmers of Patsaling village in Tsirang. It was also their main source of income and livelihood.
   [read more]

Tattoo parlours get under trade’s skin
Health concerns lead to the clampdown

22 March, 2010 – Even as tattoos gain popularity among Bhutanese youth, none of the tattoo artists have a trade license to do body art commercially, say trade officials, which makes them illegal.
   [read more]

Shift system adopted to relieve overcrowded classrooms
The old building near the football ground is also used as a classroom

22 March, 2010 – It’s not only the town that’s getting packed in Phuentsholing. With pressure from increasing enrolment every year, classrooms in Phuentsholing schools are getting so crowded that school authorities have been forced to start a shift system.
   [read more]

A portfolio of innovations
Two U.S. entrepreneurs come up with an initiative for Bhutan

22 March, 2010 – Using potato starch to make plastic bags, instead of just harvesting the tuber for sale or consumption, and building structures from glass powder rather than just using them to manufacture windows. Who even imagined of such wonders?    [read more]

Depleted national team for Kuwait
AC Elite Cup 22 March, 2010 –

Bhutan’s national team is gearing up for the Asian cricket council (ACC) elite cup in Kuwait, which will begin in April. The squad of 14 players, despite leaving behind five key players, is confident and optimistic about performing at their best.    [read more]

Shorter, faster and cheaper
22 March, 2010 – Bhutan, most tourist guidebooks say, is a country of short distances but long journeys. It’s another way of saying that travelling around Bhutan can take a comparatively longer time than elsewhere.
   [read more]

Work begins to 2013 deadline
The distance saved translates to millions saved
A tough task ahead

Damchu-Chukha New Alignment 21 March, 2010 – The mood was of excitement and nostalgia at Damchu yesterday as officials and a few locals watched the JCB bulldozer push the first plough of earth, signalling that work on the much-awaited Damchu-Chukha new alignment has begun.    [read more]

Bhutan Observer

Education official sentenced
 The Thimphu dzongkhag court sentenced Ngawang Dorji, Deputy Chief Pro­gramme Officer of Non-formal Education and Continuing Division under the Ministry of Education, to one year and three months in prison for forgery, official misconduct and embezzlement.
As provided under section 28 of the Penal Code of Bhu­tan, the accused was ordered to pay Nu 45,000 in [...]    [read more]

Engineers train carpenters, masons
In an effort to enable rural masons and carpenters to build safer homes, a series of training was held in the six eastern dzongkhags recently. This was prompted by the widespread destruction to homes and other infrastructures by the recent earthquakes in the east.
About 130 rural masons and carpenters from Pemagatshel and Samdrup Jongkhar were [...]    [read more]

Pyramid schemes illegal, RMA
Pyramid or Ponzi schemes like Basil International Limit­ed, SkyquestCom, Goldquest, Amway, or similar networks are considered illegal in the country and subject to per­secution for fraud under the country’s law, according to RMA officials.
RMA officials say people should beware of any scheme that requires money invest­ment in a franchise that gives you commissions for recruit­ing [...]    [read more]

Snooker business picking up
At this time of the year, snook­er rooms in Thimphu, espe­cially at the Zangtopelri Com­plex, are packed with people, some waiting for hours until they get a chance to pull a cue stick.
Students, monks, drivers, jobseekers, and office goers are the main customers in the snooker rooms.
“You have to reach here before offices and schools [...]    [read more]

Fallow fields and dying trees
 With paddy fields being left fallow for lack of irrigation water and mandarin trees ravaged by citrus diseases, Panbang farmers are worried about their livelihood. Rabi C Dahal reports from Panbang
When the 5th five-year plan started, many farmers in Ngangla Gewog in Panbang stopped growing paddy due to short­age of irrigation water.
When the water shortage [...]    [read more]

Gonpasingma’s wintry water woes
Karma, a shopkeeper in Gonpasingma village, makes frequent visits to the Pemagatshel town, almost every second or third day.
his is not something he likes to do, but he has no choice. He travels some 15 km to fetch water for domestic consumption in his pickup truck. Like him, others take their power tillers filled with [...]    [read more]

Pioneer in entertainment industry
A recipient of a gold medal, a composer, singer, performer, and film director, Tashi Nor­bu, 50, is a pioneer in Bhuta­nese entertainment industry.
The Managing Director and owner of Tashi Nyencha En­tertainment Company, Tashi Norbu started the entertain­ment group in 1987 with four people.
They composed traditional songs, tunes and redesigned a few traditional musical in­struments. They [...]    [read more]

Jica to help develop horticulture in the east
  Japan International Coopera­tion Agency (Jica) will pro­vide training on horticulture along with machinery, equip­ment, and other necessary materials to the people of six eastern dzongkhags.
Tomoki Nitta, Resident Representative of Jica Bhutan Office, Karma Tshiteem, Sec­retary of GNH Commission (GNHC), and Chencho Nor­bu, Director of Department of Agriculture, signed the record of discussions on March 16, [...]    [read more]


Druk Star FC and Loseling drew 3-3 in the second round of the league phase of ongo­ing C division football cham­pionship on March 17.
The game kicked off at Changjiji football gound amid cheers from spectators which largely comprised students.
Within three minutes from the start, Ngayel of Loseling scored to give his team an early lead. [...]    [read more]

Should we sell the party? PM
The two political parties are worried that it would be impossible to clear their debts by June 30, 2012, as directed by the Election Commission of Bhutan (ECB) in order to be eligible to contest the 2013 elections. Both parties had incurred huge debts before the elections.
After the elections, their membership strength and voluntary contributions [...]    [read more]