Students lose everything to fire

Source: Boys lose all their belongings

 

June 29: Sixty seven boarder boys of Mendrelgang Middle Secondary School in Tsirang lost all their belongings when the hostel they were occupying was burnt down today.
Top floor of the newly constructed double-storied hostel was completely destroyed by the fire. However, the ground floor escaped from the mishap.
The fire which started at around 1 pm was controlled after about two hours. Fortunately, the students were in the MP hall for their final mid-term examination and there was no one in the hostel when the fire broke out.

Students and teachers controlled the fire before it could spread to another double storied hostel.

The hostel has just been handed over to the school this year, after its construction was delayed by over two years.
Meanwhile, on the command of His Majesty the King, a team lead by Dasho Zimpoen Penjor is on their way to Tsirang to meet the students and deliver immediate relief.

Another park in Thimphu

source: kuenselonline.com

Good & Green: A nominal fee will be charged to cover maintenance costs

29 June, 2010 - The more parks the capital city has, the more its recreational use both among the young and the elderly, who utilise the space for picnics, birthday celebrations and play.
Having understood this, Thimphu city corporation (TCC) officials have decided to open yet another park in Changangkha, work on which will begin in two months time.

The new six-acre park will be built for Nu 5M.

Like the other four parks, Motithang, clock tower, Bhutan-Thai friendship and Coronation, TCC chief environment officer Gyeltshen Dukpa said the new park will be meant for both children and elderly residents for their recreational activities.

With more people using the parks for numerous purposes on various occasions and the city having to clean and maintain the parks, Gyeltshen Dukpa said they would have to charge minimal fees to visitors.

“It’s about the parks’ sustainability in the long run,” Gyeltshen Dukpa said. “We can’t always depend on the government.” He also said the corporation charged filmmakers Nu 10,000 for using the parks.

On the state of the parks, he said, Bhutanese lacked civic sense when it came to protecting public property. “It’ll take time for people to develop a sense of ownership for public property,” he said.

Vandals of the park, he said, would be liable for an on the spot fine.

For that very reason, the corporation employs about 16 people to look after the gardens, clean the parks and secure them. Gyeltshen Dukpa said creation of parks was necessary, particularly in urban areas where a majority of its residents favoured concrete structures over the environment.

By Kuenga Tendar

Fears of foreign land ownership

Source: kuenselonline.com

NC points out dire consequences of such a policy

Foreign Direct Investment 25 June, 2010 - National council members yesterday unanimously agreed that land ownership in the country by foreign direct investment (FDI) companies should be disallowed.
The members were discussing issues and raising concerns, following some of its members’ review of the country’s recent FDI policy, zooming in particularly on the implications of allowing foreign land ownership in the country.

Members felt the provision in FDI policy, which states that land or space for establishing FDI business should be available, either on lease or ownership, based on the provision of the country’s 2007 land act, should be revoked.

They said the provision was ambiguous, as it failed to specify whether the land would be given to a FDI company on lease, or if they would have the choice of owning a space on Bhutanese land.

The committee, which reviewed the policy, pointed out several consequences should foreign investors be allowed to own land in the country.

Since FDI businesses were often legally binding, the draft review said that one of the ramifications of allowing foreign investors ownership of land, would be the possibility of the country losing legal cases with foreign businesses on control over the land in future.

The committee also feared that foreign land ownership would disadvantage local businesses in the long run.

The review report stated that FDI businesses would have access to huge capital to occupy prime land in the country, pushing local businesses to the peripheries, thus constraining their growth.

For similar reasons, members said that Bhutanese would be induced to sell their lands, an asset that secures their future wellbeing, the long-term implications of which was poverty and increasing intergenerational inequity.

An immediate implication of allowing foreign land ownership, members believe, would be inflation on land costs, house rents and other commodities, meaning an undesirable inflationary impact on the cost of living.

Foreign land ownership would also cause land prices to escalate, further depriving Bhutanese from owning land on which to build their own homes, the review report said.

National council members also argued that, if the government was drawing up such policies, based on the notion that its failure to attract FDI so far was determined by ownership restrictions, then it should reconsider that belief.

The council’s review on the policy said land ownership for foreign investors was not a critical consideration for FDI, as long as the country had a strong law allowing foreign companies to operate their businesses on leased land.

Drawing the experience of Vietnam and China, it said land ownership was not a critical factor to attract FDI.

The report further stated that FDI companies only wished to own land to establish capital intensive investment in heavy industries, which the country was not seeking to promote.

“It is clear that Bhutan seeks to promote FDI in the services sector, for which land ownership is not critical to attract FDI,” the report said. “Aman and Uma hotels and the IT park are also built on leased land.”

Clarifying on the issue, economic affairs secretary Dasho Sonam Tshering said the government allowed 100 percent FDI only in certain fields, for which foreign investors would have to establish their companies on leased land.

He said 100 percent FDI was permitted for building a five star resort, in which case, the government would identify an appropriate space and lease it out to a foreign company on a long term basis.

In a joint venture, Dasho Sonam Tshering said, local partners, who did not have the required capital, could use their land as equity, while their foreign investors could chip in the money.

“The land in that case will be registered in the company’s name, and the company in turn will be registered under the company’s act,” he said. “Foreigners can’t own land.”

Similarly, if a Bhutanese individual sells land for a FDI business, he said, the individual would not be allowed to own the land, but it would have to be registered with the company, which eventually had to be registered under the company’s act.

“Land act allows companies to hold land,” Dasho Sonam Tshering said, adding that the country’s FDI policy was comparatively more restrictive, and the government was selective in opening 100 percent to FDI.

By Samten Wangchuk

Druknet websites hacked (update)

source: kuenselonline.com

Content management systems not updated led to problem

Internet Service Provider 19 June, 2010 - Local internet service provider (ISP) Druknet is currently recovering, after 50 of its websites were hacked early yesterday.
Users trying to access certain websites hosted by the ISP were greeted with a blank home page and a message that said the website had been hacked.

Although some of the hacked websites were back online by afternoon, many websites were still down as of last night. Druknet’s web server, on which the websites are stored, was also taken offline periodically throughout yesterday.

The hacker or hackers had exploited websites designed, using free open sourced content management systems (CMS), like Word Press, according to Druknet.

The ISP’s general manager, Tshering Norbu, said the problem lay with customers not updating their CMS with security fixes that resolve flaws. “Customers pay a designer Nu 20,000 for a website and then just leave it static,” he said, “Usually all the designer does is customise the CMS and sell it.” He added that 95 percent of the websites hosted by Druknet do not have their content management systems updated regularly.

He pointed out that hacking websites, using outdated CMS, can be quite simple, because such information is available on the internet.

The websites of almost all financial institutions were also hacked, sparking fears among internet banking customers. But Tshering Norbu said the fear was unwarranted. He explained that Druknet only hosted the home page of the financial institution’s websites. A separate server, located at the financial institution, contains customer information, such as account numbers and financial data. He said that such servers usually had advanced security mechanisms in place. Bank officials confirmed that customer information had not been compromised.

Druknet officials said the damage caused by the attack was minor, since it was limited to the home pages of websites.

But Druknet also acknowledged that the security flaw is being taken seriously and will be followed up with an investigation. “First we recover the sites, then investigate,” said Tshering Norbu. Druknet will also prioritizse getting customers to update their CMS.

Druknet also acknowledged that a motivated hacker with advanced expertise could exploit the security flaw to manipulate data or steal information. “It depends on the skill, this time it was limited to editing scripts,” said Tshering Norbu.

“It was probably for fun, to grab some attention,” said Tshering Norbu on a possible motive. Druknet officials dismissed the idea that it could be a Bhutanese hacker.

In April last year, government computers were hacked by by an international cyber espionage network called GhostNet.

By Gyalsten K Dorji

Bhutan sites hacked

Most sites hosted at Druknet were hacked recently. The hacker most probably replaced the index file with malicious code that the visitors are greeted with haCked By Q8 H4x0r ;) message.

Some of the sites affected

http://www.bob.bt (resolved)

http://www.druknet.bt (resolved)

www.drukpnbbank.bt,

www.bnb.com.bt,

www.tbank.bt

www.thejournalist.bt,

www.bhutantoday.bt

the league of extraordinary gentlemen

I find this piece by Dawa T Wangchuk from Business Bhutan very interesting. Old habits die hard, eh?

 

the league of extraordinary gentlemen

POSTED BY DAWA T WANGCHUK | 05 JUNE 2010

The retired dashos’ club is asking for vehicle quotas, duty free benefits, diplomatic passports and unique vehicle number plates

To avoid the plight of being relegated into the dusty annals of once-upon-a-time-there-was-a-dasho tales, 40 retired red scarf officers, including three women, are grouping to voice their concerns.

Dashos Business Bhutan talked to said with democracy in, the orange and blue colors are getting more prominence.

“I was humiliated by a policeman while going to the dzong, who took me for a gomchen,” said a retired red scarf officer. Following tradition, a dasho who has retired from service does not wear his patang (sword). With just the red kabney, the policeman thought the former officer was a lay monk.

The club comprises of former dzongdas, drangpons, and director generals, who once commanded immense power and glory.

Known as the Retired Red Scarf (Nyekem) Officers Club, the group aims to help fellow dashos in times of need as well as to “serve the Tsa-Wa-Sum as and when called upon by His Majesty.”

According to a former dzongda, nyekem is a lifelong privilege awarded from the Golden Throne. “This will revive the prestige of the red scarf,” he said, adding that the association has the blessing of His Majesty the King.

The club has raised issues regarding privileges like vehicle quota, duty free benefits, diplomatic passport and unique vehicle number plate.

“A vehicle number plate like that of the MPs will help us to travel with ease within the country,” said a former dzongda.

However, the club is careful with their demands. “We do not want anything which has financial consequences to the government,” said another former dzongda.

Unique number plates for vehicles and diplomatic passports do not financially burden the government, another one said.

While visiting places where a red kabney is not required, it is good to have an identity card signifying the rank, a former director general said. “At places like the hospital, the security guards feel we are old useless people from the villages and treat us badly,” he added.

There will be four regional coordinators who will look after the club activities in the east, west, central and south. “The executive committee and coordinators at the regional level will keep in touch with all retired officers in their region and help in times of sickness, death and other difficulties,” added a member.

The club will also organize pilgrimages within and outside Bhutan. “And for this, it was felt necessary to have diplomatic passports,” said a member.

Will the club wield any political influence?

“Absolutely no,” a member said.

The club is apolitical. Period.

Soccer debuts in Bhutan

Source: kuenselonline.com

30 May, 2010 - In 1922, the people of Bumthang flocked to the holy grounds of Kurjey monastery to witness perhaps the first ever historic football match played in the country (see photo).
Capt. HRC Meade, a surveyor with the survey of India, took the photo. A keen photographer, Meade headed the survey party that accompanied maj. FM Bailey (1882-1967), the British political officer based in Gangtok, India, who visited Bhutan in 1922.

The photo is one of 53 he took during his visit to Bhutan. Currently, these photos are filed under loose prints, dated 1922 and archived with the royal geographical society in London.

According to records maj. FM Bailey, on his visit to Bhutan, started on 20 June, trekking the high passes of Chumbi and crossing several more passes to descend to the Bumthang valley. He returned to Gangtok in July 1922.

The prime objective of his visit was to present the first king, Ugyen Wangchuck (r.1907-1926), the insignia of the Grand Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire (GCIE). When capt. Meade joined the delegation to Bhutan the British were given permission, for the first time, to survey the land and hence used their plane-tables, theodolites and other instruments openly. Capt. Meade was also the first to do air survey reconnaissance of Bhutan. In 1925, the details of the survey were published in a 49-page book, ‘Air-survey in the Irrawaddy delta, 1923-24’ by Sir Clinton Gresham Lewis. Reconnaissance survey in Bhutan and South Tibet, 1922; by Captain HRC Meade I.A.

Meade’s photo also provides information on two monasteries in the background of the photo. Both were built by Trongsa Penlops, although 250 years apart. Trongsa Penlop Minjur Tempa built the first one (right) in 1652. Its salient feature is that it is built under a cypress tree and houses the cave where Guru Rinpoche meditated. The first King built the one on the left in the 1900s, as Trongsa Penlop.

Contributed by Tshering Tashi,
Co-author of Bold Bhutan Beckons

Teen violence in the capital

Source: Thimphu is teen turf | Kuenselonline

A passing phenomenon of the ‘90s has now grown to a menacing level

29 May, 2010 - A 16-year old student receives a call from his friend one evening. The voice on the other side, sounding rather agitated, informs him that his younger brother is being beaten up by a group of 15 young boys.

He quickly mobilises 12 of his toughest friends. They enter into the other’s turf, which means facing a gang, comprising a group of youth, who reside within the vicinity of the table tennis hall in lower Changangkha.

While the younger brother lies face down on the road, surrounded by some of the gang members, punches start flying among the boys. The 16-year old brother is hit with a beer bottle on the head from the rear. He remembers hearing one of the opponents shout, “Let’s run before the police arrive”.

“This is how gangs are formed,” the 16-year old student said, refusing to reveal the name of his group. “To save yourself you must have your own.”

They are not the only so called gangs that have emerged in Thimphu in the past year. Sources reveal the existence of about 13 groups in various localities of Thimphu, such as the MB Boys, Webs gang, White house boys, Norling boys, D boys, bacteria, virus, collar shirt boys, black house boys, Nigga Boys and the bazaar boys.

With members ranging from 20 to 300, their disputes are usually young territorial rivalry, police officials said. These ‘gangs’ are mostly made up of students between the ages of 13 and 19.

But what is worrying Thimphu residents is that these boys are getting more and more violent.

Just yesterday, a taxi driver was brought in paralysed at the Thimphu referral hospital after being attacked by, what he called, a gang. And on May 16, a 16-year old student was brought to the hospital’s intensive care unit (ICU), after he was knocked unconscious to the ground by a group of youth near the Zangdopelri shopping complex around 8 pm. He suffered multiple head injuries.

The police also point out that juvenile crime has reached an all time high. About 37 students have been brought to the police station this year alone for offences related to fights, possession of weapons and theft. The Thimphu hospital also sees two to three cases a week of victims of group violence.

Describing an incident on Doebum lam near the swimming pool area recently, an eyewitness called it “unusual and frightening”. Two men in their late 20s early 30s were being chased by a group of more than 30 boys, carrying knives, knuckledusters, bricks and iron rods.

The police also had to deploy additional force one night as there were close to 100 boys fighting, a source said.

Alarmed by the growing menace, the chief of police brigadier Kyipchu Namgyel convened a meeting on May 13 with all stakeholders, including the education secretary to discuss the issue.

“I’m seriously concerned and deeply disturbed,” the police chief said, adding that they have done a comprehensive research and submitted a report to the home ministry. “Since these people are young, we’ve worked out clear strategies and measures which I can’t reveal at the moment.”

The gang culture among Thimphu’s youth existed in the 1990s, with names such as Taktsang, peace rat gang and snake, involved in several gang fights and stabbing cases.

The same culture made a comeback, according to police, in late 2008 and early 2009 through a harmless free-style dance competition, where boys formed groups to learn and showcase their new moves at an open place, police officials said.

Most of the present groups have drawn inspiration from a Japanese action movie – The Crow – which is on the lips of not just the gang members but also every Bhutanese student in Thimphu. Police said such influences have resulted in a substantial increase in youth violence and drug abuse cases from late 2009 and early this year.

A health official said that most of these children involved in mass violence are under the influence of alcohol or prescription drugs, such as N-ten and relipen tablets. A combination of both makes them aggressive and unruly, he said. The police arrested 392 people in 2009 for drug related offences, of which 122 were below the age of 18, and 65 were students. About 108 people were also arrested this year and 25 were minors.

But the gangs, then and now, have little resemblance, sources said. “The gang members are mostly schoolboys in their early teens, coming from various family backgrounds, and the number of members are huge, unlike in the 1990s,” a source in the police said. “A strength of a gang is determined by its numbers.”

The 16-year old student said that MB Boys, supposedly short for mass beating boys, has more than 300 members today. “Although the group was formed in Dechencholing, it’s now spread across Thimphu,” he said. “It sends at least 30 people to beat up two.”

Most gangs are constantly looking for new members and, to increase their strength, they team up with other gangs. They have oath taking sessions to protect the name of the gang at all times. Therefore, numerous incidents of harassment, fights and other unlawful activities go unreported and a series of battery cases remain unsolved.

A 13-year old gang member with his friends near the hongkong market area in Thimphu said that his parents knew nothing about his involvement. “You want some?” he asks, pointing at a bottle of coke and Rock-bee, local whisky. “I tell my parents that I’m going to the video game parlor, working on an assignment with friends, going to the teacher’s house for a class project.”

Although most of these violent incidents occur off school, education secretary Sangay Zam said schools are aware of the youth problems that have emerged in the recent years. “We’ll work together with all stakeholders before the problem gets bigger,” she said, adding that parents would have to monitor their children more carefully - who their friends are and what they are doing outside school.

On November 11, 2009, after the children’s day celebration, a group of primary school teachers were sitting among themselves and having the leftover snacks, when a group of boys ran across the school campus.

These students were on their way to settle a difference with another group, which had come to the school premises carrying knives, knuckle-dusters and several other weapons, a Thimphu teacher said.

“Some of our school boys went to the boy’s toilet and got their set of weapons,” she said. “We were shocked. Things have already gotten out of hand.”

The 16-year old student said that there are girls’ groups too. “Most of the fights are over dumb stuff like this member hates this member,” he said. “Sometimes, the fights are triggered by turf issues. They also beat up other kids for no reason.”

By Phuntsho Choden

Where tradition discounts education

Source: Kuenselonline

Empty schools in two villages speak of separate priorities

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Old Habits Die Hard: A family on route to its summer residence

Merak-Sakteng 23 May, 2010 - It’s different in the highlands of remote Sakteng in northern Trashigang. Walking to the dungkhag, visitors encounter droves of cattle herded by young school-aged children.
Rarely are these children in the company of their parents while herding cattle, which is just one of their responsibilities. They even carry material for developmental projects in the gewog from the nearest road in Phongmey, which is a day’s journey by foot. Their latest task was to carry material for the erection of a mobile tower and its barbed wire for fencing.

With so many children out and about, the community schools in the gewog are in want of students.

Community schools in Thrakthri and Joenkhar villages have only five and nine students each in class PP. “We’ve gone into the villages and talked the parents into sending their children, mostly the over-aged ones to school,” said principal Yeshi Dorji of Joenkhar community primary school.

The community school did not have any enrolment in 2007 and currently does not have a class two section. Teachers are worried about next year. “We’ve carried out a survey and found out there are none for enrollment next year,” he said, adding that the children that are in the villages are just two or three years old.

Other teachers in Sakteng said that many parents were withdrawing their children from school. According to the teachers, some parents were not allowing their children to continue studies after they complete primary education.

The elders of the villages, however, think differently. Parents do not send all their children to school and, even if they do, they usually withdraw them after they reach a certain age. Only the young ones are sent, while the older ones stay at home to assist them.

“If we send all our children to school, who’ll take our place and carry forth the traditions and culture we’ve long cherished and lived by?” questioned Sonam Tshomo from Tholong, Sakteng.

Sonam Tshomo is in her early fifties and has seven children, of whom only two attend school in Joenkhar. Her 13-year old daughter follows her with a herd of oxen and horses to collect ration and other essential commodities from Phongmey, a tradition that has been followed for a long time.

Meymey Karchung, 53, from Merak, lives with two of his sons in Thrakthri. Both dropped out of school after Class VII. The elder is only 18 years old and is married with a daughter.

“It’s difficult to handle more than 40 cattle, so I had to keep my sons out of school to help me,” said Karchung. “Moreover, we can earn if we rear the cattle, whereas sending them to school incurs expenses and I can’t afford that because I have nine children.”

Though the number of children in a family has relatively declined, most brokpa families still have more than six children, according to village representatives.

Another villager had a different opinion. “Our government said tourism would greatly benefit the Sakteng brokpas. Now, if all our children go to school and are employed elsewhere, then there would be none left to continue our culture,” said Norbu, another brokpa. “Tell me then, why would tourists want to come to our villages?”

Moreover, Norbu said that there is an increasing need of manpower, because each year the livestock increases. “There are at least five new calves born each year, so the need increases,” he said, adding that a brokpa’s son is the best brokpa.

Tashi Phuntsho, a teenager, had to give up school, as he was the eldest in the family, and remain home to shoulder bigger responsibilities. His two younger siblings go to school.

Sangay Tshering, 15, from Thrakthri village, likes attending school. But attending to his family’s need comes first. Sangay’s village is about a six-hour walk away from Phongmey. The villagers depend on livestock and crops. He frequently walks to Phongmey to get rice and other essentials.

But Sangay is not bothered by not being able to attend school. He said that he will soon marry and have a family. When his children grow up, he would want his children to listen and obey him like he obeyed his parents. “I know my parents want me to become like them,” he said. “I’m happy as a brokpa.”

By Tshering Palden

Surviving on a shoestring budget

Source: kuenselonline.com

DPT and PDP differ on the state funding issue but share a bankruptcy problem

Political Parties 18 May, 2010 - Reeling under the pressure of defaulting bank loans and unable to raise fresh party funds, the country’s two political parties, the People’s Democratic Party and Druk Phuensum Tshogpa, are working on strategies to stay afloat.
PDP members and supporters recently met in Thimphu to re-register members, whose one-year membership had almost expired, for the new financial year. After discussing the party’s financial status, PDP managed to raise Nu 1.7M that day through members’ contributions, excluding membership fees. Most of the contributors were businessmen and industrialists.

“We were overwhelmed by the support and the funds that our members have committed,” said PDP vice president, Ritu Raj Chhetri, adding that about 30 candidates and more than 150 members were present at the meeting on May 9.

The election commission of Bhutan increased the individual contribution ceiling from Nu 100,000 to Nu 500,000 last year.

“The party is operating on minimal operational costs, to keep at least the Thimphu office running,” he said. Most PDP dzongkhag offices function from homes of their supporters and that too on a voluntary basis.

While PDP, after paying off a Nu 20M loan through the auction of former party president Sangay Ngedup’s land, has around Nu 3.5M in administrative debts. DPT has a total debt of about Nu 24M.

The election commission of Bhutan (ECB), on the other hand, has asked both parties to clear their dues by 2012, a year before the next general elections.

DPT general secretary, Thinley Gyamtsho, said that they are exploring all funding sources and working out a plan to address the serious cash flow problems to clear the dues and meet basic expenditures of the party.

There were proposals recently to ask the 45 DPT members of parliament to contribute Nu 0.2M each, which the general secretary, said would only cover about 37 percent of the total debt.

“An executive committee meeting would be held to discuss how the funds could be raised,” he said, adding that MPs and ministers were already contributing 10 percent of their salaries every month to keep the party offices running. MPs contribute Nu 3,600 each, while ministers contribute about Nu 7,800 each to the party fund.

Although PDP has cleared off Nu 20M through auction of the former president’s land, vice president Ritu Raj said that ECB wanted the party to pay back the amount. “This is because an individual can’t contribute more than Nu 500,000. But we’re yet to discuss the issue further,” he said.

Both parties feel that the only way to survive is by retaining and recruiting more members and supporters. But DPT’s membership fell from 12,000 in 2008 to about 3,800 in 2009, while the PDP has only about 400 registered members.

While DPT, led by prime minister Jigmi Y Thinley, has insisted that parties can only survive through state funding, Ritu Raj Chhetri said that PDP is very firm on its earlier stand that, if it’s unconstitutional, the party would not accept state funding. “The ground realities, however, prove that we do need money,” he said.

By Phuntsho Choden

Beaten to bed

From: bhutantimes.bt

Written by Karma Tshering Thai

May 16, 2010: A 16-year-old class VIII student of Dungtse Middle Secondary School in Trashigang is bearing the brunt of an angry teacher. Sangay Dendup has missed more than three weeks of classes now after he was beaten up by a teacher in the school.

The teacher, Karma Jamtsho, ‘kicked and slapped’ the student on April 22 in front of friends and school mates until he fell down on the ground. The victim’s father, Minjur, has written a letter to the education minister requesting for an investigation into the case.

Sangay Dendup was asked by the hostel warden to ring the bell before time that day. Karma Jamtsho, the teacher on duty, enraged by the act, bashed Sangay Dendup. Only later he was told that the warden had instructed Sangay Dendup to ring the bell.

The principal of the school, Kinzang, said Sangay Dendup was beaten up by Karma Jamtsho but did not suffer any physical injuries. “I have got a written statement from Karma Jamtsho accepting that he had used physical force in rage,” said the principal.

Karma Jamtsho in his statement to the Principal writes that the main cause was an untimely bell given as a call for evening study which was scheduled to happen in respective hostels.

“Since I was already annoyed it so happened that I kicked him on his back,” he writes.

Later the teacher called Sangay Dendup for reconciliation. However Karma Jamtsho in his statement says the student responded to him in anger. This further annoyed him. “Hardly any sensible and obedient student would reply in such a manner to his or her teacher,” writes Karma Jamtsho. “This annoyed me again and I slapped him.”

“Whatever I have done to him was just an intention to rectify his behavior and to avoid any kind of misbehavior from him in the long run. At any cost I did not want to leave him hurt. I went to his hostel and asked for his forgiveness and consoled him in the presence of school captain and school bell captain,” writes Karma Jamtsho.

The victim’s father told Bhutan Times that his son was first taken to the Phongmey BHU and after the health assistant did not find any physical injuries was referred to the Trashigang hospital.

“The entire medical checkup expenses were born by the school authority,” said the principal, adding that the school authority on behalf of the teacher also tried to solve the problem by offering Nu 3,000 to 4,000 to the victim’s parents. “They (victim’s parents) refused the offer demanding Nu 15,000 to 20,000.”

When the incident took place, the victim’s father was at Laya in Gasa constructing houses on a contract basis. He was called by his wife and informed of the incident.

The principal said the victim’s father demanded Karma Jamtsho to refund all the expenditure he incurred while travelling from Laya to Phongmey. “We knew that it was our fault and did our best to negotiate but the victim’s father did not agree to what we offered,” he said.

Minjur, the victim’s father, appealed to the education minister on May 3. The Department of School Education has been directed by the minister to verify and to take necessary action. The education minister also called the parents of the student.

The director general of the Department of School Education, Tshewang Tandin, said nothing appropriate can be said right now because the case needs to be sorted out in the field consulting the principal and the district education officer.

The education secretary, Sangay Zam, who left for the east along with the education officials to study the status of the earthquake victims, on the sidelines, will also visit Dungtse Middle Secondary School to look into the case.

She said education policy does not allow the implementation of corporal punishment in schools.

The victim’s father is waiting for a response from the education ministry.

“In case the education ministry takes time I will report the case to the police,” said the aggrieved father.

Meanwhile, Sangay Dendup has not been able to attend school.

Living on the fringe,Thimphu’s growing slums

Source: Bhutan Observer

14 May 2010

Forty-year-old Karma falls into a queue with a jerry can of water. She is waiting for her turn to use a few out door toilets shared by at least 80 households. It is 7 in the morning. The growing slum of Kala Bazaar in Thimphu has woken up.

Karma has followed this morning routine for the last one decade. When the wait to relieve themselves becomes too long, the residents take to the nearby bush.

Karma is one of hundreds of slum dwellers in Kala Ba zaar. The slum area is sepa rated into two communities by the road. The upper com munity has some 30 house holds made up of Thimphu City Corporation workers. The lower community has some 50 households made up of PWD workers.

All slum dwellers are gov ernment workers with the lowest income. They com prise construction labourers, drivers, gardeners, plumbers, sanitation workers, and elec tricians, among others. All of them have landed up in the slum in search of free hous ing.

The slum is made up of rows of small, identical huts built with smoke-blackened bamboo mats, tarpaulins and flattened tar drums.

The area has no adequate access to safe water, sanitation and other urban amenities. It is not surprising because the settlement has mushroomed over the years unplanned.

The majority of families live in a single room adjoining a small kitchen. Given the eas ily combustible materials the huts are built with, there is a real danger of a fire hazard. The whole slum dwellers have only three water taps. Water comes from a source above the settlement where it is collected in a huge drum. The outlet from the drum of ten gets blocked by leaves, sediments and other solid particles. Only early birds get washing and cleaning done. Others have to wait for their turn.

The area does not get regu lar routine garbage disposal service. Waste is everywhere. While the residents claim that garbage is disposed of regularly in the City’s garbage trucks, dogs and chickens are everywhere scavenging on piles of garbage.

A few makeshift toilets are built at odd places. Children often defecate by the road side, and dogs get a hearty meal. The residents say that they come together and do a mass cleaning on weekends.

The lack of basic facilities has been reported to the mu nicipal authorities and the roads department. But no re­sponse has come.

Slums are also taking shape in Hejo, Jungzhina, Dech enchholing, Motithang, and at the vegetable market. All of them share similar charac teristics.

The residents of all these settlements on the govern ment land do not pay house rent, but they have to pay electricity bill. The settlement in Dechenchholing, however, does not have electricity con nection.

Conventionally, poverty is seen as a lack of income for meeting basic food needs. However, in urban areas, it has been re-defined as a lack of access to basic services, housing, livelihood and voice or empowerment.

According to the 10th five-year plan document, 23 per cent of the total population in the country falls below the national poverty line.

The approach to the 10th plan recognizes that ‘despite strong pro-poor development policies and interventions, poverty continues to be a seri ous concern’.

Despite many efforts, the urban poor are not likely to see an end to their struggles soon. The local area plans under the Thimphu structure plan do not have a provision for housing for the lowest in come families.

In 2004, Thimphu’s squat ter settlements and slums have almost disappeared af ter the government’s drive to evict slum dwellers. Barely five years later, they are here again, growing.

Urban planners say that slums are a result of lack of urban policies covering land ownership, infrastructure provision and maintenance. For the poor, it is lack of choice.

Chief Urban Planner of Thimphu City Corporation, Geley Norbu, said that force ful eviction of the residents of slums is not the solution. The choice is to embrace them be cause they have nowhere to go.

According to him, there are no policy guidelines in place to make the livelihood of slum dwellers better.

Meanwhile, due to the lack of coherent and effective ur ban policy for the poor, the future of unplanned settle­ments, especially slums, look bleak.

Going by the urban popu lation forecast by 2020 based on the urbanization trends re ported in the Bhutan National Urbanization Strategy, Thim phu is likely to grow rapidly in the next few years.

Clearly, along with the rise in the city population, the population of the poor and the vulnerable will go up. Going by the constant rate of growth of the poor, the num ber of poor households in the city by 2020 may range from 800 to 2,900 households. But the number could be higher.

If the living condition in the slums does not improve, as observed in other coun tries, the slums could become a breeding ground for social problems such as crime, drug abuse, alcoholism, high inci dence of mental illness, and suicide.

The Secretary of the works and human settlement minis try, Nima Wangdi, however, said that there are no slums in Thimphu. Slums on govern ment land had been removed in the past. “If there are any illegal squatter settlements on government land, they will have to be removed by the City,” he said, adding that even huts between the build ings should be removed. City building inspectors are re sponsible for that.

The slum dwellers, in the meanwhile, can look forward to the coming financial year with hope for proper housing, safe drinking water, proper drainage and sanitation. The city corporation’s proposal of Nu 3 million for improving the livelihood of slum dwell ers has been approved.

By Sonam Pelden

First Bhutanese to win

Source: Kuenselonline.com

9 May, 2010 - Tashi Wangmo, one His Majesty’s five appointees in the National Council, has been named as one of the 197 Young Global Leaders 2010 by the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Geneva.
The honour, bestowed each year by the Forum, recognises and acknowledges up to 200 outstanding young leaders under 40 years from around the world for their professional accomplishments, commitment to society and potential to contribute to shaping the future of the world.

Young leaders from 72 countries, selected from a variety of sectors such as business, government, academia, media, non-profit organisations and arts & culture engage in task forces that address specific challenges of public interest with the objective of shaping a better future.

Drawn from a pool of almost 5,000 candidates, the Young Global Leaders 2010 were chosen by a selection committee, chaired by H.M. Queen Rania Al Abdullah of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and comprised eminent international media leaders.

The 2010 honourees will become part of the broader Forum of Young Global Leaders community that currently comprises 660 outstanding individuals. The YGLs convene at an annual summit – this year it was in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, from May 2 -7, the largest ever gathering of YGLs – as well as at forum events and meetings throughout the year.

WEF is a Geneva-based non-profit foundation best known for its annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland.

The community of Young Global Leaders was established in 2005 by the WEF as a successor to the Global Leaders of Tomorrow. The leaders engage in the 2030 Initiative, the creation of an action plan for how to reach the vision of what the world could be like in 2030. This year’s honorees include Swiss tennis player Roger Federer, British fashion designer Stella Mc Cartney, Evan Williams, the CEO and co-founder of Twitter, and Indian filmmaker and actress Nandita Das.

Tashi Wangmo said that she was surprised to receive the award and was also deeply honoured and humbled. “I see this honour not an end in itself, but a means to an end, the beginning of a journey,” she said.

By Dipika Chhetri

Counterfeit racket uncovered

source: KOL

Phuentsholing police arrest one Indian man

Funny Money: The police is trying to ascertain the number of such notes in circulation.

8 May, 2010 - The royal Bhutan police have uncovered a fake note racket, with the arrest of a 49-year old Indian man, carrying about 15 samples of fake Nu 50, 100 and 500 Bhutanese currencies in the border town of Phuentsholing.
The police also found a high-resolution Canon photocopier machine, papers and ink in his hotel room in Phuentsholing town.

The man, a vegetable vendor and a cassette shop owner in Kalchini, Jalpaiguri district, India, was arrested on April 2, while on his way to negotiate a deal with some Bhutanese. An informer tipped off the police, who arrested the man at around 9 pm in the Phuentsholing lower market.

He had checked into a hotel room that week with two other Indian men, police officials said, adding that they had already taken an advance payment of Nu 20,000 from other Bhutanese dealers, who had placed an order that week to print 200,000 notes of various denominations. “When we caught him, he was on his way to make a second deal,” the police spokesperson said. “We’re still in search of his two Indian partners and the Bhutanese suspects.”

The man told police that they had agreed to exchange one original note for every two fake ones.

The fake notes confiscated by the police were samples to show their Bhutanese counterparts and had the same texture, with security features like an original Bhutanese note, a police official said. “The man had used a special paper and the right colours of ink, bought from Siliguri, which made the notes look anything but fake,” he said.

The high resolution Canon photocopier

The 49-year old man said to the police that he made fake Bhutanese currency notes, by copying both sides of the original note on two thin sheets, using a high resolution Canon Pixma MP 145 photocopier. He then photocopied the security features on the same note, before pasting the two sides together. The serial numbers of the fake notes, however, remained as that of the original. “We made him use the machine to see how he made the fake notes, he was really fast and the security features were well copied,” said a police official.

The government had directed the police to launch a thorough investigation and deploy a special team in Phuentsholing and Jaigaon this year, after several counterfeit notes were detected in the market, police officials said. The bank of Bhutan and Bhutan National bank had also come across a few Nu 100 and Nu 500 notes in 2009.

“We’re in the process of finding out how many counterfeit notes have been circulated in the market and who are his Bhutanese and Indian partners,” said the police spokesperson.

By Phuntsho Choden

Journalists honoured

Source: Honouring the scribe

2nd Annual Journalism Award 4 May, 2010 - Six print and four broadcast journalists were awarded cash prizes and certificates at the second annual journalism award ceremony yesterday. The award ceremony was organised to coincide with world press freedom day on May 3.
Journalists were awarded prizes, based on the entries on four pillars of Gross National Happiness – culture, environment, economy, good governance and a fifth category on GNH discussions.

Bhutan broadcasting service corporation (BBSC) anchor and producer, Dawa, won two awards for the two panel discussions, which he produced in the categories, good governance and culture. The panel discussions were titled promotion in consolidation of democracy and national integrity. Former Bhutan Times reporter, Tshering Chuki Gyamtsho’s story on the rampant marijuana plantation in Beylangdra, Wangduephodrang, ‘The divine and the diabolic’, won the best entry in the print category for culture.

In the environment category, a documentary film, the cost of climate change, produced by Tshering Penjor of BBSC won the award. Kuensel’s Ugyen Penjore won the award in the same category for his story, The prayer flag and the forest.

Former reporter of Kuensel, Tenzing Lamsang, who now works for Business Bhutan, won the best entry for good governance for his article entitled ‘Drugs or poison’ on the quality of medical drugs, equipment and their procurement by health ministry.

In the economy category, Kuensel reporter Kinga Dema’s article, the tobacco journey, won the award, while BBS producer Neten Dorjee’s programme – Grassroots First - won under the same category.

Bhutan Observer’s reporter, Rabi C Dahal won the best entry in GNH for his article titled ‘The Ungar diary’, while BBS producer, Karma Dhendup won for his short documentary called ‘The cost of climate change’ he wrote about Thorthomi lake during a recent visit to Lunana.

The award ceremony was graced by the prime minister, Lyonchoen Jigmi Y Thinley, members of parliament, along with other dignitaries and media personnel.

Guest speaker, veteran journalist and author, Sunanda K Datta who was also a former editor of The Statesman, said that media in Bhutan has transformed since his first visit to Bhutan decades ago.

“Every media is seen as the ultimate guarantor of democracy, clean governance, of fair play,” said Sunanda K Datta. “But it’s difficult for media to fulfil these objectives when so many media houses themselves are far from democratic. Most of them are ruled by feudal families.”

The information and communication minister, Lyonpo Nanda Lal Rai, said that, with the potential role of media being recognised by all, media should always play a constructive role in informing people. “The government accepts the role of media in creating transparency and justice,” he said, adding media and the government share a hate-love relationship like anywhere else, which should be taken in a positive note.

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From: Media award: And the winners are…

May 3: The annual media award was held today coinciding with the International Press Freedom Day. The award ceremony was organised at the Tarayana conference hall.
The awards were given by the guests at the ceremony including the Prime Minister Lyonchhen Jigmi Y. Thinley and the keynote speaker, the former editor of the Statesman, Sunanda K. Datta Ray.
Journalists competed in five categories. These are environment, culture, economy, good governance and discussions on GNH.
Under the environment category, Tshering Penjor a producer with BBS won the award for his programme, The Cost of Climate Change, a reality of global warming and from the print media, the award was taken by Ugyen Penjore for his article on the Prayer Flag and the Forest.
In the culture category, Dawa, a current affairs producer of BBS won the award for his programme National Integrity. From the print media, the award was taken by Tshering Chuki Gyamtsho for her article, divine and the diabolic.
Neten Dorjee, an executive producer of BBS won the award in the economy category for his documentary, Grassroots First. From the print media Kinga Dema took the award for her article on Smuggling Cigarettes.
In the good governance category, Tenzin Lamsang walked away with the award from the print media and Dawa bagged the award in the broadcast category. Rabi C. Dahal won the award for his story on finding happiness in rural Bhutan under the discussion on GNH category. While in the broadcast category, the award was taken by BBS producer Karma Dendup for his documentary, Smile.
In the special category, reporting and writing in dzongkha, the award was taken by Tashi Tenzin from the print media.
The entries were judged by a panel of judges selected by the media houses. The awards include a citation and a cash prize of Nu. 25,000.

muscles and misters

Source: Mr Thimphu becomes Mr Bhutan

Tshering Dorji (first from left) is Mr Bhutan

3 May, 2010 - Before bodybuilders appear in front of their audience to show off their muscles, they lift weights, do push-ups and chin-ups for a pumped, toned and chiseled physique.

They spend about 15 minutes doing that.
Different bodybuilders use varying means to warm themselves up before they hit the stage and gain some energy for such regimens.

Some settle for chocolates, a few prefer black coffee, coke and bananas, while a few others sip on alcohol. Depending on their preferences, bodybuilders drank ara, whisky and wine.

The first Mr Thimphu, Tshering Dorji, who on May 1 went on to upgrade that title to being the first Mr Bhutan, said alcohol helped increase blood circulation in the body, which in turn helped muscles to become fully pumped.

Unlike steroids, he said alcohol was not illegal in the world of bodybuilding.

The winner of lightweight category, Lobzang Dorji, said he drank a can of Red-Bull, an energy drink, to regain from exhaustion and loss of energy.

“I hadn’t drunk water for two days to create a rippled look for the competition,” he said.

Middleweight champion Pema Thenchok said pre-contest diet was one of the most difficult processes to go through. “To compete for the Mr Bhutan title, I went into diet, totally avoiding any carbohydrates, for four months,” he said. “I never expected to win the middleweight category. I was simply thrilled to have won it.”

Many observers said bodybuilders on stage had grown and improved, both in terms of size and confidence, in the past two years.

“Although unmatchable in presence of Tshering Dorji, many look bigger and muscular than those first batch of bodybuilders during the first Mr Thimphu competition,” a Thimphu resident said.

Tshering Dorji, who has helped several bodybuilders in Thimphu, right from their dietary intake to training regime, said bodybuilding in Bhutan was different, in that everyone knew everyone else.

“We’re like a small bodybuilding family,” he said. “We help each other out to improve ourselves.”

Winner of the lightweight category Lobzang attributed his success to the help Mr Bhutan rendered him since a year ago. “He also helped me choose supplements and various training techniques, which really improved my physique,” Lobzang said.

Pema Thenchok is organising the second Mr Phuentsholing body building competition, where Tshering Dorji and Lobzang will also be participating. Following that, Mr Bhutan is scheduled to participate in competition in Kathmandu sometime in June, where he will face bodybuilders from the South Asian region.

“I’ve saved much of what I had to show for the Mr Bhutan competition for the big event in Kathmandu,” Tshering Dorji said.

By Kuenga Tendar

The Gongdu effect

Source: Feature: The Gongdu effect | Kuenselonline.com

A 12-day walk through remote Mongar and Pemagatshel

Time Out: The royal entourage at a break during the arduous trek

FEATURE 2 May, 2010 - We stood ready in Zimzorong, carrying rucksacks filled with medicines, knee caps, dried food, raincoats, pain relieving sprays, bottles of water, glucose and the like for the 12-day walk with His Majesty through the remotest gewogs in Mongar and Pemagatsel in eastern Bhutan.
Zimzorong is a footpath junction on the Gyelpoizhing-Nganglam highway that is still under construction and 14 km from Gyelpozhing town. It has four shops that sell everything from clothes to liquor and serve villages in Khengkar gewog.

“It’s a difficult journey and the villages on the way have nothing at all,” someone told us in Gyelpozhing town when we began the walk three days ago.

From Zimzorong’ it is a two-hour steep winding climb through the pine trees to Tongla village. Nothing moved. The only sound we heard was our footsteps on the gravel path and heavy panting. The dry hard earth emitted so much heat that afternoon we were bathed in perspiration that dripped into the eyes.

The descent from the chorten in Yudari village hurt our knees. The lights of Kengkhar school seemed to move farther away as we jogged towards it. We slept in the classroom right after dinner.

On the third day, still hours away from our destination, Pam village, night began to set in. Even as we rushed to get out of the woods, our feet felt heavier with each step up the climb, the heavy Hitec boots forcing them to drag on the dusty path.

Our hands swelled as the heavy backpack straps pressed hard on our shoulders. Minutes ago in Gorthongla, a villager had said that it would take another hour and a half to get to Pam. For us, non-regular walkers, it meant more than two hours.

The journey we had made with such difficulty is usual activity for even children in the villages. Primary school kids, villagers said, do dozen of trips during the vacation to sell oranges and earn money for school expenses. In Kengkhar school, children walk for two hours everyday to fetch water for the school mess.

Many a time, villagers tread that path to Gyelpozhing just to buy a pair of slippers or a bag of imported rice.

“We can’t buy from the local shops because the prices are almost double,” said a villager in Jurmi. Pam village does not even have a shop. The nearest one is a day’s walk.

The next two days took us through the country’s poorest villages in Gongdu gewog. There were also places and people with interesting names. The names of the villages end in ri (Udari, Nanari..) which means river, but the villagers face acute shortage of water. A man in the village is called Nga Da Gyalpo (His Majesty the King).

Most of the houses are made of bamboo and use banana leaves as roofing material. They seem to be clinging to steep rocky hillsides. Besides orange trees, there were patches of clearing in the forests surrounding the houses indicating the practice of slash and burn cultivation to grow maize.

Climbing and sliding down the rocky hillside, we moved further down south from Kengkhar, where land fragmentation has pressured farmers from 50 villages to take up slash and burn cultivation in Weringla dungkhag.

The Weringla dungpa said that, though the place has huge potential in horticulture, limited land, coupled with lack of market, has been a problem.

Lengkhong, 65, a father of 10 children from Gongdu, admitted there is no future for his children in the village. Not in the way he sees it. Thus, eight of his children are away. “We’ve no road connection or electricity,” he said. But they have a drinking water supply.

Women waited along the way dressed in their best to welcome us. They offered ara (local brew) from huge traditional bamboo flasks and fruits as part of their tradition.

Many of them are happily married, but most were divorced. Tandin Wangmo’s first husband died when her two sons were toddlers. She met another man from whom she has a daughter, but his relatives disapproved of their marriage.

There are many like her. Tandin’s eldest son, aged 14, used to work in the fields to help her raise the family. Her three children are now amongst hundreds from the dzongkhag to receive the education allowance kidu.

The high rate of divorce has left many vulnerable children and destitute people in the villages. Its number seemed to grow with every village we went through.

But most of these rural villages have access to the cellular network. A villager in Gorthongla village does not mind walking for an hour to Pam and back, several times a week to recharge mobile phone batteries. “Mobile is the only luxury we have,” said Leki. Friends and family members in towns recharge their phone vouchers.

As the journey continued, we saw villagers now peacefully cultivating in areas where the Indian militants had once camped a decade ago. The fields are so steep, a slip means rolling down to the bottom of the valley.

Yet villagers are hopeful. The Gyelposhing-Nganglam highway, which passes through the villages on the banks of the Dangmechu, could help them out of poverty within a few years. A massive hydro electric project is also planned along the river.

On the last day of the walk, a crimson western sky turned to a grey blanket and slowly spread across the sky. We took part in a tshogchang and rested. We drank the milk and ate tengma (flattened maize). There was one last descent and a climb before getting to a mining road in Nganglam, Pemagatsel. As we left, the women bid us farewell, singing and waving scarves from a hill until we could no longer see them.

By Tshering Palden

16th SAARC summit concludes

Source: BBS

April 29: The 16th SAARC summit ended today with the adoption of the “Thimphu Silver Jubilee Declaration- Towards a Green and Happy South Asia.”
In his closing speech, the Prime Minister Lyonchhen Jigmi Y. Thinley described the deliberations as most instructive and productive. But he said the true test of the success of the summit lies in the difference the decisions will make to the lives of the millions of the poor and deprived in SAARC countries.
The summit decided to develop a vision statement by a South Asian Forum. The forum will provide a platform to debate, discuss and exchange ideas on South Asia and its future.
It came out with the Thimphu Statement on Climate Change which is expected to provide a strong impetus to the SAARC efforts to address issues relating to Climate Change.
The SAARC Foreign Ministers signed two instruments, the Convention on Cooperation on Environment and the Agreement on Trade in Services.
The agreement on trade in service will help boost trade and promote people to people contact. The agreement on environment will help address issues related to climate change. It will also enable SAARC to have a common voice in climate change negotiations in national, regional and international level.
The SAARC Development Fund has become operational and its First Chief Executive Officer appointed. It will finance regional and sub-regional socio-economic development programmes and projects.
The South Asian University in New Delhi has also become operational. The university will open in August and will become the Centre of Excellence for Higher Learning in South Asia.
The Prime Minister also thanked the delegates for allowing Bhutan to introduce the concept of Gross National Happiness. An inter-governmental workshop will be organised later this year to look at the relevance of this concept in our region.
The President of the Maldives, Mohamed Nasheed said that there are sufficient ingredients to achieve the SAARC objectives. There was a sense of togetherness and commitment from the countries to achieve the common goal. However he said there are also challenges that need to be overcome.
The next SAARC summit will be held in the Maldives.

Saarc adopts silver jubilee declaration

Source: Bhutan Observer

30 April 2010

The principal outcome of the 16th Saarc summit, the 36-point Thimphu Silver Jubilee Declaration, was adopted yesterday by the eight leaders of the Saarc countries. Commemorating the 25th anniversary of the founding of Saarc, the declaration charts the future course of the association to make it an even more effective and a robust body.

“The true test of the success of this summit lies in the difference the decisions will make to the lives of millions of the poor and deprived in our countries. We, therefore, need to be focused and act on the decisions,” said the Saarc chairperson, Lyonchhen Jigmi Y Thinley. The leaders highlighted the need for more efficient, focused, time-bound and people-centric activities and called for appropriate reflection of all the Saarc decisions in the national policies and programmes of member states.

They resolved that the year should be commemorated by making Saarc truly action-oriented by fulfilling commitments, implementing declarations and decisions, and operationalising instruments and living up to the hopes and aspirations of one-fifth of humanity. The Maldives will host the 17th Saarc summit in 2011.

Pacts signed

The leaders signed the Saarc Agreement on Trade in Services, which is expected to further deepen the integration of the regional economies. The convention on cooperation on environment was also signed. They called for an early ratification of the agreements. However, the proposal on disaster management rapid response mechanism could not be agreed upon since the leaders felt the need for more expert studies. The 15th summit declaration stressed the need for timely provision of relief in humanitarian emergencies. The declaration directed the creation of a natural disaster rapid response mechanism under the aegis of the Saarc Disaster Management Centre.

Saarc agreement on Trade in Services will enable the realization of the region’s immense potential in service areas such as health, hospitality, communications, computer, information, and air transport.

The Saarc Convention on Environment is expected to promote cooperation among the member countries in the field of environment and sustainable development.

Regional cooperation

The leaders agreed to form a South Asia Forum for generation of debate, discussion and exchange of ideas on South Asia and its future development.

The forum would provide inputs based on a comprehensive understanding for charting out the future course of Saarc. They stressed the need to reach out to different sections of the South Asian community, particularly its students and youth, private media, private sector, think tanks, civil society, and institutions of economic development.

Gross National Happiness

The leaders emphasized a greater focus on people-centric development with due emphasis on socio-cultural progress and upholding traditions and values. The concept of GNH was noted. They welcomed Bhutan’s offer to host a Saarc workshop on GNH in 2010.

Poverty alleviation

The leaders emphasized deepening regional efforts on poverty alleviation. They called for expeditious mainstreaming of the Saarc Development Goals (SDGs) in the national processes and completion of the mid-term review of the SDGs. They welcomed Nepal’s offer to host the third Ministerial Meeting on Poverty Alleviation in 2011.

E nvironment

The leaders welcomed climate change as the theme for the summit and reaffirmed their commitment to address this challenge. They emphasized that global negotiations on climate change should be guided by the principles of equity and common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities.

They underscored the need to initiate the process to formulate a common Saarc position for COP16 and beyond.

They also called for focus on water management and conservation, and development of cooperative projects at regional level.

The leaders reiterated the importance of sustainably managing environment and development through adoption of eco-friendly approaches and technologies.

They called for effective regional programmes in early warning, preparedness and management.

Women and youth

The leaders welcomed the announcement by the Maldives to nominate a Woman Secretary General as the tenth Secretary General of Saarc.

They directed the development of a Saarc Youth Action Plan to guide regional cooperation.

Saarc Development fund (SDF)

The leaders welcomed the ratification of the SDF Charter and inauguration and operationalization of the permanent secretariat of the SDF in Thimphu.

They emphasised the need for the member states to take full advantage of the mechanism of the SDF through clearance and implimentation of the projects and programmes.

South Asian Free Trade Agreement (Safta)

The leaders reiterated their commitment to implement Safta in letter and spirit. They emphasized the need to realize the full potential, through reduction of the size of the sensitive lists, acceleration of trade facilitation measures, and removal of non-tariff, para- tariff and other barriers.

Education

The leaders emphasized the need to strengthen cooperation in education and directed greater interaction among the universities in the region towards undertaking of joint programmes on collaborative research and exchange programmes.

Connectivity

The leaders called for collaborative efforts to achieve greater intra-regional connectivity and endorsed the recommendation to declare 2010-2020 as the Decade of Intra-regional Connectivity in Saarc. They agreed on the need to expedite negotiations with a view to finalizing the two agreements on motor vehicles and railways.

They underscored the need for promotion of tourism to enhance greater people-to-people contacts in the region and called for the creation of tourism-friendly environment.

Food security

The leaders directed the Saarc agriculture ministers to vigorously pursue regional cooperation in agriculture covering all sub-sectors to enhance overall agricultural productivity. They directed early consideration of the concept of a regional seed bank, regional testing and certification of seeds, and a framework for transfer of plant genetic material and seeds.

Energy

The leaders emphasized the need to undertake studies to develop regional energy projects, promote regional power trade, efficiency, conservation and development of labeling and standardization of appliances, and sharing of knowledge and technologies.

Terrorism

The leaders reiterated their firm resolve to root out terrorism and recalled the Ministerial Declaration on Cooperation in Combating Terrorism. They emphasized the need to strengthen regional cooperation to fight terrorism and transnational organized crimes.

By Sonam Pelden

Never too old to learn

Cheten, Dorji Wangchuk and his youngest brother (From left)

 

 

 

 

 

27 April, 2010 - Dorji Wangchuk blushed recalling his first day in school as a 15-year old. Now 22, the student from Gongdi under Silambi gewog, Mongar, is in class six at the Pangthang community primary school.
“I was as tall as my teacher,” said Dorji. “But my fingers couldn’t scribble the letters which other students did with ease,” recalled Dorji whose hands were hardened by ploughing and digging the fields.

But no one could beat him singing nursery rhymes. “I enjoyed them more than learning the lessons,” he said. It helped him forget the difficulties at home.

Instead of going to school Dorji stayed home looking after the cattle and his five younger siblings. Then seven years ago dungkhag authorities convinced his parents to send him to school.

Dorji’s father died last year and since then he has shouldered the responsibility to meet school expenses for himself and his brother, who goes to the same school. His elder brother and a sister work in Haa and Samtse.

“I worked on neighbours’ farms during weekends and holidays on wage. In the winter I sold oranges,” said Dorji. He needed Nu 4,000 a year as school expenses for himself and his brother.

Dorji’s friend Cheten, also from Silambi, carried oranges and walked for more than four days to Tsenkari in Nganglam and back to cover school expenses. He earned Nu 450 for every trip.

Cheten dreads visiting his past. His mother died while he was an infant and his father abandoned him soon after. Since then he lived with his elder sister.

The 18-year old from Medan, is studying in class five in Daksa community primary school. “I wondered how it’d be like, when I saw my friends going to school while I looked after cattle,” said Cheten.

He fancied their uniform, their books full of pictures and the songs they sang. “I wished one day I could go to school,” he said. His dreams materialised when the dungkhag authorities convinced his family to send him to school.

Both students exhibit exemplary discipline and are good in studies according to their teachers. They have served as school captains for years now. They also share the ambition of becoming doctors in future.

The two students have been selected to receive the annual kidu educational allowance.

By Tshering Palden

SAARC leaders arrive in Bhutan

 

SAARC : 27 April, 2010 - Six SAARC leaders have arrived in the country ahead of the 16th SAARC summit that begins tomorrow in Thimphu.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Top down: Bangladeshi Prime minister Sheikh Hasina Wazed, Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai, President Mohamed Nasheed of Maldives, Prime minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani of Pakistan and Prime minister Madhav Kumar Nepal of Nepa

A coming of age summit

Source: Kuenselonline

Opportunity to showcase Bhutan as an emerging nation

Dry Run: A rehearsal all the way from Paro Airport

23 April, 2010 - The main gate at Babesa that welcomes visitors into the capital city stands tall.

First come the flags of SAARC member states affixed to the necks of street lamps along the 6.5-km expressway. This is followed by portraits of the heads of eight SAARC member nations also fastened to lamp-posts.
An alternate succession of flags and pictures of leaders continues until the end of the expressway at Lungtenzampa.

Thimphu city looks much cleaner and its residents are eager to witness the motorcade of heads of the region pass through the main streets.

Bhutan is ready to host the 16th SAARC Summit.

“It’s a special privilege and opportunity to showcase and demonstrate our country as coming of age,” Lyonchhoen Jigmi Y Thinley told Bhutanese journalists at a press conference in the “grand” assembly hall in Thimphu.

While journalists were seated on chairs behind semicircular tables, designated for delegates from member nations with their country name-plates, the prime minister sat below the platform, where the heads of states will stand, during the inaugural ceremony, behind the long table, spanning the platform, with podiums at either end.

A privilege, he continued, to showcase an economy that is growing and an ecology, which though fragile, is well preserved and will continue to be so.

He also said it was an opportunity to showcase an emerging democracy, which started in a unique way and will thrive.

“As a harmonious society and a country that is committed to regional cooperation that has now the political will and intelligence to host such a major regional event,” Lyonchhoen said.

A country like Bhutan, Lyonchhoen said, needed such an event to project its image as a sovereign, independent and a unique nation.

“Never has Bhutan played host to so many important delegations and never will it be exposed to the outside world as this event might,” he said.

The country would be playing host to some 800 delegates, of which 50 would be observers from nine observing nations and more than 300 media people.

The press conference was held after Bhutanese journalists were given a tour of the principal areas where the dignitaries would meet, be entertained and stay during the Summit.

Lyonchhoen said hosting the event brought with it the responsibility of chairmanship, which going beyond hospitability, meant being more knowledgeable on all deliberations of issues.

Apart from upgrading airport facilities, erecting a new gate at Chunzom and sprucing up the city, the government had to also refurbish the interiors of the summit hall in parliament.

The prime minister said the lights had to be changed, because it was timely and necessary from threats posed by wires.

The banquet hall will serve as the convention centre, where the programming committee, standing committee and council of ministers meeting would be held. It now has 15 chandeliers.

“The speaker’s room has been done up and called the Raven Room, where heads of government will meet before and after meetings at the Summit hall,” Lyonchhoen said.

The Bhutan house at SAARC Village will serve as a central facility to facilitate all bilateral meetings for heads of government, should they feel the need to meet on neutral grounds.

Besides that, it would also be used as a place of retreat for leaders of delegations for informal “frank exchanges” without their aids or anyone with official status.

SAARC, Lyonchhoen said, had a vast potential, the key to which was in the development of an atmosphere of understanding, trust, removal of doubts and suspicion among member states.

Lyonchhoen said he was confident that the summit would contribute to furthering confidence, which in turn was useful in furthering the interest of the countries of the region.

“The fact that they’re all coming here is an indication of that common interest,” Lyonchhoen said. “We all know the importance of SAARC.”

Lyonchhoen also appealed to the public to bear with the inconveniences the summit proceedings would cause them and to be mindful about littering.

By Samten Wangchuk

Touching hearts and lives

Source: Touching hearts and lives | Bhutan Observer

23 April 2010

His Majesty’s visit to some of the remotest parts of the kingdom in the east is rede fining the people’s percep­tion of a monarch like never before.

The rural people are now describing His Majesty as “an enlightened being”.

“He didn’t sound like a king up there in his speech,” said Atta Chiloo from Zoar in Kengkhar Gewog, Mongar. “He sounded like a lama tell ing us to be good human be ings.”

Villagers, school chil dren and civil servants are increasingly opening their hearts to him.

Until recently, farmers, especially in remote areas, would not dare to be seen or stand along the trail taken by the royal entourage. Dorji Wangchuk, Director of the Royal Office for Media, said His Majesty has been able to win the people’s hearts. “I myself grew up running away when we heard the pi lot siren,” he said.

“Within a short span of time, His Majesty has defi nitely changed the people’s perception of the monarch,” he added.

Earlier, people ran away upon a rumor of an immi nent visit of the dreaded gar pas (court officials). Today, everyone stands and waits patiently for the motorcade. His Majesty dutifully stops by even for a single soul standing by the roadside.

In the past, villagers ran away from court officials, who were known to impose heavy taxes on them.

Some village sources say that, in a year, more than five garpas visited the villages to collect taxes. Cattle, pigs and chicken were slaughtered for the garpas. Villagers bore all the expenses of their stay and hospitality.

“I remember villagers weaving Pangkhep Sari (a towel-like piece of cloth) in my childhood,” said Rinchen Wangdi in his fifties. “Villag ers would tell me that it was given as a tax to Jakar Dzong in Bumthang.” Rinchen also remembers people weaving another kind of textile called Reepay Thagra to be given as another kind of tax called Thraigong.

Ata Chiloo recollects vil lagers hiding in the forests on hearing a rumour of gar rpas’ arrival. They also hid their properties and valu ables away from their hous es. Kengkhar was once the highway for the kings and dzongpoens moving from Bumthang to Dungsam (present-day Pemagatshel and Samdrupjongkhar area) and Assam.

Some communities in the eastern Bhutan even left their native villages to avoid heavy taxes. One such place is Kur toe in Lhuntse Dzongkhag. Long time ago, some 18 households were known to have abandoned their village to avoid heavy taxes, which also included doae (labour tax that involved carrying government consignments).

Villagers say that two peo ple from every household would be out doing doae. Numerous taxes were levied on different villages depend ing on what they grew. Some common taxes included sath rey (land tax), laneru threy (vegetable dye tax) and sing si grapa (vegetable oil tax).

According to Atta Chiloo, different garpas were de ployed to collect different taxes. Throughout the year, the villagers remained both ered by tax collectors. The garpas were locally named after the tax they collected. First came Lanee Garpa fol lowed by Singsi Garpa. Then came Yoma Garpa (to col lect butter and cheese tax) followed by Thritha Garpa (to collect textile tax) and Thraizong Garpa.

Present day Kengkhar Community Primary School (KCPS) premises were used for the garpas’ night halt. Known as Gumnang Brang sa, the villagers used the ground to keep their cattle. Ata Chiloo still remembers presenting live cattle to gar pas for meat. Now, Atta Chiloo and Rinchen Wangdi see the past being replaced by a present. The present they are seeing is the affection of a king for his people. Ata Chiloo rec ollects the slaughter of his neighbour’s bull in the same field.

Today, they are witnessing a king placing his service for the betterment of his peo ple. “I take it as my sacred responsibility to address the problems of my people,” said His Majesty.

Time has definitely changed, said Shacha Dor ji from Yangmalashing in Pemagatshel.

“Now we need not have to offer anything to the King; instead, he gives us every thing,” said Rinchen Wang di.

Today, meeting the king has become a life-long dream for many. A villager from Pam in Gongdu Gewog in Mongar said seeing the king was a life-time oppor tunity. “Earlier, forget see ing the king, in a place like Gongdu, you could not even see a dzongda,” said Yeshey Namgay.

“Today, you don’t have to go to Thimphu; the King walks into your village, and into your house,” he added. “He treats his people like his family members”.

Tshering Gembo, a class V student in Daksa Community Primary School (DCPS), was thrilled by His Majesty’s in vitation to play football with him.

“It was fun playing with His Majesty,” he said. “He was one of us.”

People say His Majesty not only provides the edu cational allowance to needy students, but has almost ad­opted them individually.

His Majesty’s education scheme has around 3,000 children in Bhutan.

His Majesty drinks from the humblest of man and woman. According to senior officials in the royal entou rage, His Majesty’s love for the people is genuine and very moving.

Any news of His Majesty passing through villages and towns attracts hundreds of people. Some of them just come to catch a glimpse of him. “People wait for hours, and some for days, under scorching sun or beating rain,” says Dorji Wangchuk.

Abi Rinchen, 77, from Bephu village under Thrim zhing Gewog, who dragged herself for a day to stand by the roadside as the King drove from Dewathang to Trashigang, said, “Seeing the King cleanses us of bad karma and we can hope for a better reincarnation. I have never seen a King and now I can die in peace.”

By Tempa Wangdi

Bhutan and Afghanistan establishes diplomatic relations

Source: Kuenselonline

21 April, 2010 - Bhutan and the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan have established formal diplomatic relations from April 20 this year.
The joint communiqué on the establishment of diplomatic relations was signed between ambassador and permanent representative of Bhutan to the United Nations in New York, Lhatu Wangchuk, and the ambassador and permanent representative of Afghanistan Mr Zahir Tanin at the permanent Mission of Bhutan in New York.

With the diplomatic relations with Afghanistan established, Bhutan now has diplomatic relations with all member countries of SAARC.

The two ambassadors exchanged views on areas of the mutual cooperation and expressed the desire of their governments to cooperate closely in areas of mutual benefit.

Bhutan now has diplomatic relations with 24 countries and the European Union

Wamrong: Rising from the ashes

Source: Kuenselonline

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Back In Business: Rinzin Wangchuk in his new shop

19 April, 2010 - “My family was totally shattered,” was Tenzin Drukpa’s immediate response after the October 8 fire razed 12 houses in the town last year. “The flames took everything we ever had,” he said.
Today, six months after the fire, Tenzin is back to running a fully stocked general shop in a house he can call his own.

On March 31, the 12 shopkeepers of Wamrong town, who lost everything to the fire, resumed business when the 12 semi permanent structures, built by the Gyalpoi Zimpon’s office, were consecrated and handed over to them.  Each house was built at a cost of more Nu 300,000.

Tenzin now runs a general shop from a four-roomed semi permanent house. The goods to establish their shops were also transported free by the Zimpon’s office.

The new houses, granted as a kidu from His Majesty the King, have been built opposite to their burnt shops across the Trashigang-Samdrupjongkhar highway.  It becomes more convenient for them, when they start rebuilding their homes. “We can run the shop and also look after the rebuilding of our homes,” said Rinzin Wangchuk, one of the fire victims.

His Majesty on April 16 also granted land kidu of 2.24 acres to 19 commercial and 42 residential beneficiaries.  The land altogether is worth more than Nu 4.3M.  His Majesty signed the decree, granting the land , sitting on the highway amidst the beneficiaries.

The land kidu has fulfilled a long held wish of the shopkeepers and residents, who have waited many years for a town plan.

Most of the shops in Wamrong town that sprouted in the late 1960s were built on government land.  The town serves as a lunch point for the travellers plying the Trashigang-Samdrupjongkhar highway.

“Until now, we worried the government might ask us to move any time.

There was no peace of mind,” said Dechen Wangdi, who runs an eatery in Wamrong town. “Now we can focus on our business alone and try all means to do better hereafter.”

The land kidu beneficiaries are going to start rebuilding after the rainy season.

The shopkeepers now look back at the fire incident with pain, but are happy that it brought a solution to an uncertain future for the town and its residents.

By Tshering Palden

PM in Japan

From: Kuenselonline.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

17 April, 2010 - Lyonchhoen Jigmi Y Thinley meets Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama at the latter’s official residence in Tokyo yesterday

Tuesdays – Walk to office day?

Source: Walking to work on Tuesdays? | Kuenselonline.com

Two years after the HEHE initiative, the jury is out on its catching on

 

 

 

 

 

On foot: Lyonpo (Dr) Pema Gyamtsho and staff on the way to office

14 April, 2010 - The HEHE walk, initiated by the agriculture minister, Lyonpo (Dr) Pema Gyamtsho, may not have encouraged all Thimphu office-goers to walk to office, but is slowly gathering pace.
Almost two years after the initiative, the minister said that officials of the anti corruption commission, national environment commission and even some private business people have started walking to office every Tuesday. “We aren’t forcing people to walk, it’s purely voluntary,” said the minister, adding that he has experienced great advantages by walking to office, at least one day in a week. “The walk will save fuel, reduce noise and air pollution and encourage people to stay healthy,” said the minister. “There’s more interaction with people when you walk to office.”

The minister added that, by encouraging people to stay healthy through physical exercise like walking to office, the pressure on hospitals from unhealthy habits would be reduced.

HEHE was started as a small initiative to fight rising fuel cost and increase in carbon emission. To ensure that the initiative is not hampered, any meetings or official functions scheduled on Tuesdays are postponed. “We can save two to three litres of fuel in a day,” said one of the officials, who walked on Tuesday from Lanjophakha.

Lyonpo Pema Gyamtsho has also realised the driving culture of Bhutanese drivers. “In many countries, priorities are given to pedestrians, but not here,” he said, adding that everybody is rushing without considering the pedestrians.

Meanwhile, the minister said that the 16th SAARC Summit theme, “Climate Change - Towards a green and happy south Asia” is an important issue that would raise discussions about global warming and its effects, natural disasters like flood, earthquake, and how to prepare for a disaster like glacier lake outburst flood. “Climate change won’t only affect Bhutan, but the entire SAARC region,” he said.

By Karma Tashi Wangmo

Traffic restrictions in and around capital

Source: Kuenselonline.com

SAARC Summit12 April, 2010 - Vehicle owners in Thimphu can expect to be stopped and directed by traffic police to take another route when VIPs are on the move on April 28 and April 29, said traffic division officials.
During the arrival of SAARC delegates on April 26 and 27, as well as their departure on April 30, traffic will be stopped on Norzin lam, starting from the taxi parking up to Chubachu.

However, for public convenience, the movement of public transport, like buses and taxis, will be allowed and restrictions lifted from 8 pm to 7 am.

Besides stopping traffic plying from Thimphu to Paro on April 26 and 27, police will also stop vehicles coming from Wangduephodrang and Punakha at Semtokha. Those coming from Haa will be stopped at Chuzom, and those from Phuentsholing at Damchu.

Traffic superintendent (SP), major Passang Dorji, said that the movement of vehicles would be stopped until all delegates reach Thimphu. On April 26, 28 and 30, only last digit odd number vehicles will be allowed to ply in Thimphu, while those with an even number as their last digit will be allowed to ply on April 27 and 29.

“Those violating this rule will be penalised, with the traffic police grounding their vehicles until April 30,” major Passang Dorji said. “The timings, if there are any, will be informed to the public later.” Traffic officials said that all preparations for the summit are in place. “The only thing we need is the public’s support for a few days,” the traffic SP said.

By Sonam Pelden