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