༉ འཕྲལ་ཁམས་ཅིག་ཁར་ གསར་བཏོན་འབད་མི་ འབྲུག་གི་ཚོང་འབྲེལ་གནས་སྡུས་དང་འཁྲིལ་བ་ཅིན་ ཧེ་མ་དང་ཕྱདཔ་ད་ དུས་ཅི་ཟླ་༡ པ་ལས་༦ པའི་ནང་འཁོད་ལུ་ གློག་མེ་བརྩིས་ཏེ་ རྒྱལ་ཁབ་ཀྱི་ ནང་འདྲེན་ཚོང་འཛིན་དེ་ བརྒྱ་ཆ་༡༢ འབདཝ་ད་ དངུལ་ཀྲམ་ཐེར་འབུམ་༥༦.༣༤ དེ་ཅིག་ ཡར་འཕར་སོང་ཡོདཔ་ཨིན་པས།
ན་ཧིང་ ཟླཝ་༦ གི་ནང་འཁོད་ལུ་ དངུལ་ཀྲམ་ཐེར་འབུམ་༥༠.༢༥ གནས་པའི་ཅ་ཆས་ཚུ་ ནང་འདྲེན་འཐབ་ཡོདཔ་ད་ ནང་འདྲེན་ཡར་སེང་སོང་རུང་ དུས་ཅི་ ཚོང་འབྲེལ་ཁྱད་པར་ དངུལ་ཀྲམ་ས་ཡ་༦༡༨ ལས་ དངུལ་ཀྲམ་ཐེར་འབུམ་༣༡.༩༥ ལུ་ ཡར་སེང་སོང་ཡོདཔ་ཨིན་པས།
དེ་ཡང་ གཙོ་བོ་ར་ ཟླཝ་༦ ནང་ ཕྱིར་ཚོང་བརྒྱ་ཆ་༢༩ འབདཝ་ད་ དངུལ་ཀྲམ་ཐེར་འབུམ་༢༤.༤ དེ་ཅིག་ ཡར་འཕར་སོང་ཡོདཔ་ད་ དེ་ཡང་ ན་ཧིང་ དངུལ་ཀྲམ་ཐེར་འབུམ་༡༨.༢༩ ལས་ ཡར་སེང་སོང་ནུག།
ཚོང་འབྲེལ་གྱི་ཁྱད་པར་དེ་ཡང་ ནང་འདྲེན་གྱི་གནས་གོང་དེ་ ཕྱིར་ཚོང་གི་གནས་གོང་ལས་ བརྒལ་བའི་སྐབས་ འགྱོ་དོ་ཡོདཔ་ཨིན་པས།
དུས་ཅི་ སྤྱི་ཟླ ༦ པའི་ ནང་འཁོད་ལུ་ རྒྱ་གར་ལས་ ནང་འདྲེན་བརྒྱ་ཆ་༨༨ འབདཝ་ད་ དངུལ་ཀྲམ་ཐེར་འབུམ་༤༩.༨༣ དང་ ཕྱིར་ཚོང་འབད་བ་ཅིན་ རྒྱ་གར་ལུ་ དངུལ་ཀྲམ་༡༧.༢༩ གནས་པའི་ཅ་ཆས་ཚུ་འབད་ནུག།
དེ་བཟུམ་སྦེ་ རྒྱལ་ཁབ་གཞན་ལས་ ནང་འདྲེན་དངུལ་ཀྲམ་ཐེར་འབུམ་༦.༥༡ དང་ ཕྱིར་ཚོང་དངུལ་ཀྲམ་ཐེར་འབུམ་༧.༡ གནས་པའི་ཅ་ཆས་ཚུ་ འཐབ་ཡོདཔ་ཨིན་པས།
འབྲུག་གིས་ གློག་མེ་ནང་འདྲེན་དེ་ བརྒྱ་ཆེ་དྲགས་སྦེ་ར་ ཡར་སེང་སོང་སྟེ་ཡོདཔ་ལས་ ཚོང་འབྲེལ་གྱི་ ཁྱད་པར་ཡང་ ཡར་འཛེགས་སོང་ཡོདཔ་ཨིན་པས།
མ་གཞི་ འབྲུག་གིས་ གློག་མེ་དེ་ཡང་ སྤྱི་ཟླ་༡༢ པ་ལས་ ཟླ་༣ པ་ཚུན་ ནང་འདྲེན་འཐབ་དོ་ཡོད་རུང་ དུས་ཅི་ གློག་མེ་དེ་ སྤྱི་ཟླ་༥ ཚུན་ ནང་འདྲེན་འཐབ་ཡོདཔ་ཨིན་པས།
དེ་ཡང་ གཙོ་བོ་ར་ ཆརཔ་ལེགས་ཤོམ་སྦེ་ མ་རྐྱབ་མི་ལུ་བརྟེན་ཨིན་པས།
དུས་ཅི་ སྤྱི་ཟླ་༥ པ་ཚུན་ དངུལ་ཀྲམ་ཐེར་འབུམ་༥.༡༢ གནས་པའི་ གློག་མེ་ནང་འདྲེན་འཐབ་ཡོདཔ་ད་ ན་ཧིང་འབད་བ་ཅིན་ དངུལ་ཀྲམ་ཐེར་འབུམ་༡.༨༨ རྐྱངམ་གཅིག་གནས་པའི་ གློག་མེ་ནང་འདྲེན་འབད་ནུག།
གློག་མེ་ནང་འདྲེན་དེ་ ཡར་སེང་མ་འགྱོ་བར་ཡོད་པ་ཅིན་ རྒྱལ་ཁབ་ཀྱི་ ཚོང་འབྲེལ་ཁྱད་པར་དེ་ དངུལ་ཀྲམ་ཐེར་འབུམ་༢༦.༨༣ དེ་ཅིག་ མར་ཕབ་འབད་ཚུགས་ནི་ཨིན་པས།
དུས་ཅི་ ཟླཝ་༦ གི་ནང་འཁོད་ལུ་ གློག་མེ་ལུ་བརྟེན་ འོང་འབབ་དངུལ་ཀྲམ་ཐེར་འབུམ་༢.༤༩ ལས་བརྒལ་མེད་མི་དེ་ འདས་པའི་ལོ་དང་ཕྱདཔ་ད་ དངུལ་ཀྲམ་ཐེར་འབུམ་༣.༣༥ དེ་ཅིག་ མར་བབས་སོང་ནུག།
ནང་འདྲེན་མངམ་འབད་མི་ ཨང་༡༠ ཡོད་མི་ལས་ མཐོ་ཤོས་ར་ ས་སྣུམ་ཌི་ཟིལ་ཨིནམ་ད་ དེ་ཡང་ དངུལ་ཀྲམ་ཐེར་འབུམ་༥.༦ དང་ པེ་ཊཱོལ་དངུལ་ཀྲམ་ཐེར་འབུམ་༡.༩ དེ་གི་འོག་ལས་ དངུལ་ཀྲམ་ཐེར་འབུམ་༡.༥༡ གནས་པའི་ཆུམ་དང་ དངུལ་ཀྲམ་ཐེར་འབུམ་༡.༣༢ གནས་པའི་ འགྲུལ་འཕྲིན་མོ་བཱ་ཡལ་ཚུ་ཨིན་པས།
དེ་ལས་ འབྲུག་གིས་ དངུལ་ཀྲམ་ཐེར་འབུམ་༧.༢ གནས་པའི་ ཕེ་རོ་སི་ལི་ཀཱོན་དང་ དངུལ་ཀྲམ་ཐེར་འབུམ་༡.༧༡ གནས་པའི་རྡོ་ དེ་ལས་ དངུལ་ཀྲམ་ཐེར་འབུམ་༡.༢༦ གནས་པའི་ རྡོ་དཀར་ཚུ་ ཕྱིར་ཚོང་འཐབ་ཡོདཔ་ཨིན་པས།
ཡུན་བརྟན་གནས་མ་ཚུགསཔ་སྦེ་ ནང་འདྲེན་ཡར་སེང་འབད་མི་གིས་ སྐྱ་ནམ་གོང་ཚད་ཡར་སེང་དང་ ཡུ་ཨེསི་ཌོ་ལར་ལས་ དངུལ་ཀྲམ་གྱི་ གནས་གོང་མར་ཕབ་འགྱོ་ནི་ དེ་ལས་ ཕྱི་དངུལ་ཟུར་གསོག་ལུ་ཡང་ འབྱེམ་ཕོག་ནི་ ཉེན་ཁ་ཡོདཔ་ཨིན་པས།
རྒྱལ་གཞུང་དངུལ་ལས་དབང་འཛིན་གྱི་ སྙན་ཞུ་དང་འཁྲིལ་བ་ཅིན་ དུས་ཅི་ སྤྱི་ཟླ་༥ པའི་ནང་འཁོད་ལུ་ འབྲུག་པའི་ཕྱི་དངུལ་གསོག་འཇོག་དེ་ ཡུ་ཨེསི་ཌོ་ལར་ས་ཡ་༥༩༦.༨༥ ཡོདཔ་ལས་ དེ་གིས་ ཟླཝ་༡༥.༤༤ རྐྱངམ་གཅིག་གིས་ ཉེར་མཁོའི་ཅ་ཆས་ཚུ་ ནང་འདྲེན་འབད་ནི་ལང་ཚུགས་ནི་ཨིན་པས།
རྩ་ཁྲིམས་ཆེན་མོའི་ དགོངས་དོན་དང་འཁྲིལ་བ་ཅིན་ ཕྱི་དངུལ་ཟུར་གསོག་དེ་ ལོ་༡ གི་ ཉེར་མཁོའི་ཅ་ཆས་ཚུ་ ནང་འདྲེན་འཐབ་ནི་ལང་ཚུགསཔ་སྦེ་ བཞག་དགོཔ་ཨིན་པས།
གཞུང་གི་ རྩིས་ལོ་༢༠༢༤-༢༥ གི་ འཆར་དངུལ་སྙན་ཞུ་དང་འཁྲིལ་བ་ཅིན་ རྒྱུན་སྐྱོང་རྩིས་ཆད་དེ་ ནང་འཁོད་ཐོན་སྐྱེད་ཡོངས་འབོར་ལས་ བརྒྱ་ཆ་༡༩.༡ གི་ ཚོད་རྩིས་བཏོན་ཏེ་ཡོདཔ་ད་ དེ་ཡང་ གཙོ་བོ་ར་ ཕྱི་ནང་གི་ཉོ་ཚོང་ འདྲ་མཉམ་སྦེ་ ཡར་དྲག་བཏང་མི་ལུ་བརྟེན་ཨིན་པས།
ཚོང་འབྲེལ་ཁྱད་པར་དེ་ རྩིས་ལོ་༢༠༢༣-༢༤ ལུ་ དངུལ་ཀྲམ་ཐེར་འབུམ་༥༡.༦༩ ལུ་ མར་བབས་སོང་ཡོདཔ་ད་ འདས་པའི་ལོ་ནང་ དངུལ་ཀྲམ་ཐེར་འབུམ་༧༢.༩༧ ཡོདཔ་ཨིན་པས།
དེ་ཡང་ ནང་འདྲེན་བརྒྱ་ཆ་༨.༥ དེ་ཅིག་ མར་བབས་སོང་མི་ལུ་བརྟེན་ཨིན་པས།
རྩིས་ལོ་༢༠༢༤-༢༥ ལུ་ རྩིས་ཀྱི་ལྷག་ཆད་དེ་ བརྒྱ་ཆ་༡༨.༩ དང་ རྩིས་ལོ་༢༠༢༥-༢༦ ལུ་ དེ་ལས་ལྷག་སྟེ་ བརྒྱ་ཆ་༤.༤ ལུ་ ཡར་སེང་འགྱོ་ནི་བཟུམ་ཅིག་ ཡོདཔ་ཨིན་པས།
མ་འོངས་ལོ་༥ འི་ནང་ སྤྱིར་སྙོམས་ལུ་ ནང་འདྲེན་གྱི་འཕར་ཚད་དེ་ བརྒྱ་ཆ་༡.༢ དང་ ཕྱིར་ཚོང་བརྒྱ་ཆ་༦.༩ ཡར་སེང་འགྱོ་ནི་གི་ ཚོད་རྩིས་བཏོན་ཡོདཔ་ཨིན་པས།
དུས་ཅི་ ནི་ཀ་ཆུ་གློག་མེ་ལས་འགུལ་ ལག་ལེན་འཐབ་ནི་ འགོ་བཙུགས་མི་དང་ སྤྱི་ཟླ་༨ པའི་ནང་ སྤུ་ན་གཙང་ཆུ་གློག་མེ་ལས་འགུལ་༢ པ་གིས་ གློག་ཤུགས་ཐོན་སྐྱེད་འབད་ནིའི་ ལས་རིམ་ཡོདཔ་ལས་ གློག་མེ་ཕྱིར་ཚོང་ ཡར་དྲག་འགྱོ་ནི་བཟུམ་ཅིག་ཡོད་པའི་གནས་ཚུལ།

ཨོ་རྒྱན་རྡོ་རྗེ།

ཁྲོམ་སྡེའི་བརྟག་ཞིབ་ཀྱི་ ཞིབ་རྟོགས་བྱུང་མི་ཚུ་ ལག་ལེན་འཐབ་དགོཔ།

༉ ངན་ལྷད་བཀག་སྡོམ་ལྷན་ཚོགས་ཀྱི་ ཞིབ་དཔྱད་ཀྱིས་གཙོས་པའི་ རྩོད་རྙོགས་སྣ་ཚོགས་ཡོད་མི་ ཐིམ་ཕུག་ཁྲོམ་སྡེའི་ ཐོག་ཚད་༢ འབད་མི་ སྣུམ་འཁོར་བཞག་ཁང་དེ་ གླངམོ་ཆེ་དཀརཔོ་སྦེ་ འོང་ནིའི་ཉེན་ཁ་འདུག།
ཁྲོམ་སྡེ་གིས་ རང་དབང་བརྟག་ཞིབ་འབད་མིའི་ ཞིབ་རྟོགས་བྱུང་མི་དང་འཁྲིལཝ་ད་ ཟད་འགྲོ་དངུལ་ཀྲམ་ས་ཡ་ལས་བཅད་དེ་བཏང་མི་ སྣུམ་འཁོར་བཞག་ཁང་༢ པོ་དེ་ དང་པ་ བྱ་སྟབས་མ་བདེ་བའི་ཁར་ གཉིས་པ་ཟེརཝ་ད་ ལྷོད་ཚུགས་པར་ ལཱ་ཁག་འདུག་ཟེར་ཨིན་མས།
ངོས་ལེན་འབད་མི་༦༦༢ ལས་ བརྒྱ་ཆ་༥༠གིས་ མཐུན་རྐྱེན་གཞི་བཙུགས་འབད་དེ་ཡོད་པའི་ ས་ཁོངས་དེ་ བྱ་སྟབས་མ་བདེཝ་འདུག་ཟེར་ཨིནམ་ད་ བརྒྱ་ཆ་༢༩ གིས་ སླབ་མིའི་ནང་ ས་སྟོང་གཞན་ ལངམ་སྦེ་འདུག་ཟེར་ཨིནམ་ད་ བརྒྱ་ཆ་༡༧ གྱིས་ འཛུལ་སྒོ་དང་ སྒོར་ལྟབ་ དེ་ལས་ གློག་མེ་ཚུ་ལུ་བརྟེན་ ལག་ལེན་འཐབ་ནི་ལུ་ ལཱ་ཁག་འདུག་ཟེར་ཨིན་མས།
བརྟག་ཞིབ་འགོ་འདྲེན་འཐབ་མི་ལུ་ དྲི་བཀོད་འབད་དགོཔ་ཡོད་རུང་ ཁྲོམ་གྱི་སྦུག་ལུ་ར་ སྣུམ་འཁོར་བཞག་ཁང་སྦོམ་༢ བཟོ་སྐྲུན་འབད་མི་དེ་ལུ་ བྱ་སྟབས་མ་བདེཝ་ཚུ་ཡོད་པའི་ བརྡ་མཚོན་ལེགས་ཤོམ་ཅིག་ཨིན་མས།
བྱ་སྟབས་མ་བདེ་བ་ལུ་བརྟེན་ གལ་སྲིད་ སྣུམ་འཁོར་བཞག་ཁང་དེ་ ལག་ལེན་མ་འཐབ་པ་ཅིན་ ཚ་གྱང་སྦོམ་ཡོདཔ་ད་ མ་གཞི་ སྣུམ་འཁོར་བཞག་ཁང་ཚུ་ནང་ སྣུམ་འཁོར་བཙུགས་བཞག་ནི་ལུ་ ལཱ་ཁག་རྐྱབ་མས་ཟེར་མི་དེ་ལུ་ བདེན་པ་ཡོད་དེ་འབད་རུང་ དཀའ་ངལ་དེ་ ངེས་ཏིག་ཨིན་པ་ཅིན་ དགོས་དོན་དེ་ འགྲུབ་མི་ཚུགས་ནི་ཨིན་མས།
སྣུམ་འཁོར་བཞག་ཁང་དེ་ རྒྱལ་ས་ཐིམ་ཕུག་ལུ་ མི་མང་སྒེར་སྡེ་མཉམ་འབྲེལ་ལས་འགུལ་ འགོ་དང་པ་ཨིནམ་ད་ རྩོད་རྙོགས་ལས་འགོ་བཙུགས་ མི་ཚུ་གིས་ བསམ་ལན་བཀོད་མི་ལུ་ལྟཝ་ད་ འཐུས་ཤོར་སྦོམ་ཅིག་ཨིནམ་མ་ཚད་ ང་བཅས་རའི་ འཆར་གཞི་བཟོ་མི་དང་ གྲོས་ཐག་བཅད་མི་ཚུ་གི་དོན་ལུ་ མི་མང་གི་ རྒྱུ་དངོས་ཟད་འགྲོ་གཏང་ནིའི་ནང་ ཉམས་མྱོང་དང་འབྲེལ་ ཡོན་ཏན་ལེགས་ཤོམ་ཅིག་ཨིན་མས།
སྣུམ་འཁོར་བཞག་ཁང་ནང་ ཚོད་བསྲེ་བཙོང་ནི་ལས་འགོ་བཟུང་ ལཱ་ལེ་ཤ་འབད་ནིའི་ དཔའ་བཅམ་ཡོདཔ་ད་ ད་ལྟོ་བཟུམ་ཅིག་འབད་བ་ཅིན་ གཙོ་རིམ་མེན་རུང་ སྣུམ་འཁོར་བཞག་ཁང་ནང་ ཚོང་འབྲེལ་འཐབ་བཅུག་མི་དེ་རྐྱངམ་གཅིག་ ལཱ་འབད་ཚུགས་ནུག།
དྲི་བ་སྦོམ་ཤོས་དེ་ར་ གལ་སྲིད་ བརྟག་ཞིབ་འབད་མིའི་ ཞིབ་རྟོགས་བྱུང་མི་ཚུ་ ཚབས་ཆེན་ཅིག་སྦེ་ ངོས་ལེན་འབད་བ་ཅིན་ འགན་འཁྲི་དེ་ ག་ལུ་ཕོག་ནི་སྨོ?
སྣུམ་འཁོར་བཞག་ཁང་ཚུ་ བཟོ་སྐྲུན་འབདཝ་ལས་ཚུར་ བསྒྱུར་བཅོས་ལེ་ཤ་འབད་ཡོདཔ་ད་ འཆར་གཞི་བཟོ་ནི་དང་ གྲོས་ཐག་གཅད་ནི་ དེ་ལས་ གནང་བ་བྱིན་ནིའི་ནང་ གྲལ་གཏོགས་ཡོད་མི་ དབང་འཛིན་ཚུ་གིས་གཙོས་པའི་ མི་ཚུ་ག་ར་ གནས་སྤོ་སོང་རུང་ གནད་དོན་འདི་ བརྟག་ཞིབ་སྙན་ཞུ་དང་གཅིག་ཁར་ ཆ་མེད་གཏང་ནི་མེན་པར་ མི་མང་ལས་ ལན་གསལ་དགོཔ་སྦེ་ཨིན་མས།
ད་ལྟོ་ དཀའ་ངལ་ངོ་མ་གཅིག་ རྒྱལ་སའི་ཁྲོམ་དང་ ཁྲོམ་སྡེ་གཞན་ཚུ་ནང་ སྣུམ་འཁོར་བཞག་སའི་ ལམ་ལུགས་དེ་ཨིནམ་ད་ ཁྲོམ་སྡེ་ཚུ་གི་དོན་ལུ་ སྣུམ་འཁོར་བཞག་འཐུས་བསྡུ་ལེན་འབད་མི་དེ་ འོང་འབབ་ཀྱི་འབྱུང་ཁུངས་ ལེགས་ཤོམ་ཅིག་ཨིན་རུང་ ཁོང་གིས་ ལག་ལེན་འཐབ་ཐངས་ལུ་ལྟཝ་ད་ ཁོང་ར་ འོང་འབབ་མ་འཐོབ་བཟོ་ནི་དང་ ཚོང་ལསཔ་དག་པ་ཅིག་ ཕྱུགཔོ་བཟོཝ་ཨིན་མས།
ཉིནམ་ཨ་རྟག་ར་ རྒྱལ་ས་ལུ་སྡོད་མི་ཚུ་ སྣུམ་འཁོར་བཞག་འཐུས་ཀྱིས་ ལཱ་ཁག་རྐྱབ་པའི་ ཉོགས་བཤད་བཀོད་དོ་ཡོདཔ་ད་ ལས་སྡེ་ལ་ལོ་ཅིག་གིས་ སྣུམ་འཁོར་བཞག་འཐུས་ལུ་བརྟེན་ འོང་འབབ་ལེགས་ཤོམ་བཟོཝ་ཨིན་མས།
དཔེ་འབད་བ་ཅིན་ དངུལ་ཁང་གི་ ཚོང་མགྲོན་པ་ཅིག་གིས་ ཁོ་རའི་ དངུལ་འབྲེལ་འཐབ་པར་འགྱོ་བའི་དུས་ཚོད་ལུ་ སྣུམ་འཁོར་བཞག་འཐུས་དངུལ་ཀྲམ་༡༠༠ལས་ལྷགཔ་སྦེ་ སྤྲོད་དགོ་མི་དང་ ཡང་ཅིན་ སྨན་ཁང་གི་ ཚབས་ཆེན་བདག་འཛིན་སྡེ་ཕྲན་ནང་ ནདཔ་བལྟ་བར་འགྱོ་མི་ཚུ་གིས་ སྣུམ་འཁོར་བཞག་འཐུས་ དངུལ་ཀྲམ་བརྒྱ་ལས་བཅད་དེ་ ལེན་འབག་མི་ལུ་ ཁ་ཤགས་རྐྱབ་དགོཔ་ཐོནམ་ཨིན་མས།
ཚོང་ལསཔ་དང་ ངོ་རྐྱང་དག་པ་ཅིག་གིས་ སྣུམ་འཁོར་བཞག་འཐུས་ལུ་བརྟེན་ འོང་འབབ་འབོར་ཆེ་ཏོག་ཏོ་སྦེ་ བཟོ་བའི་ནམ་དུས་ལུ་ ཁྲོམ་སྡེ་ཚུ་གིས་ མི་མང་གི་ཞབས་ཏོག་ཚུ་ ལེགས་བཅོས་འབད་ནི་ཨིན་ཟེར་ གཞུང་ལས་ མ་དངུལ་ལྷངམ་ཨིན་མས།
ཁྲོམ་སྡེ་གོ་དོག་དྲགས་མ་བཟོ་བར་ ཞབས་ཏོག་ཚུ་ ལེགས་བཅོས་འབད་ནིའི་དོན་ལུ་ ཁྲོམ་སྡེའི་བརྟག་ཞིབ་ཀྱི་ ཞིབ་རྟོགས་བྱུང་མི་ཚུ་ ལག་ལེན་འཐབ་དགོཔ་འདུག།

More than 30 police personnel terminated following the incident

Staff Reporter

Tourist guides, police personnel, and tourist drivers were allegedly involved in a coordinated scheme, siphoning off large amounts of monument fees for the Taktshang monastery in Paro.

Kuensel has learnt that more than 30 police personnel from Paro have been terminated due to their involvement in bribery and misappropriation of the entry fees.

Tourists visiting Taktshang monastery are required to pay Nu 1,000 monument fee at the ticket counter located at Ramthangka, the base of the monastery.

Tourists have to pay entry fees while visiting seven monument sites in the country.

These monuments include Taktshang and Kyichu Lhakhang in Paro, National Memorial Chorten, Changangkha Lhakhang, and Tashichhodzong in Thimphu, Punakha Dzong and Chimi Lhakhang in Punakha.

Except for Paro Taktshang, the entry fee for these monument sites is Nu 500 per person for all foreign visitors, including tourists, official guests, and personal guests.

In March this year, the total monument fee amounting to Nu 6.6 million was collected from the two sites in Paro, Nu 4 million from three monuments sites in Thimphu, and Nu 7 million from two monuments in Punakha.

In March, 5,277 adults and 167 students visited Taktshang monastery.  Students get a 50 percent discount on entry fees.

Kuensel learnt that  guides  bypassed the ticketing process by stating that their guests were hiking up till the viewpoint and would not enter the monastery. This was the main modus operandi.

Sources revealed that guides, police personnel, and drivers then shared the monument fees among themselves.

In some instances, tourist guides also traded the tickets of those tourists who could not reach Taktshang with other tourist guides.

Usually, upon reaching Taktshang monastery, police personnel at the gate check and punch the ticket and enter the names of the visitor in the register.

The dzongkhag administrations manage entry fee collection at the monument sites. The dzongkhag accountants collect the funds on a daily or weekly basis, and crosscheck the number of tickets issued against the number of tourists visited.

The funds are then deposited into the current accounts of the dzongkhags.

The dzongkhags have the discretion to use up to Nu 300,000 from funds for developmental activities at the respective sites, after getting approval from the National Monument Supervision Fund Committee.

Although the government has introduced an online monument ticketing system, it is not widely used.

The Guides Association of Bhutan stated that it is waiting for a report from the police.

The police said that investigations are ongoing and declined to share information.

According to sources, the police are also investigating a similar case of misuse of monument fees in Punakha.

Jigmi Wangdi

The recently inaugurated Thromde Health Centre (THC) at Motithang in Thimphu, along with three already existing THCs, is expected to improve access to healthcare services in the capital.

Three THCs were set up in Bebena, Semtokha, and Debsi in April 2023 to decongest the Jigme Dorji Wangchuck National Referral Hospital (JDWNRH).

These health centres are equipped with a general duty medical officer, two health assistants, and relevant technicians. They offer a range of basic services similar to those provided by a BHU Grade One, including laboratory tests, X-rays, ultrasounds, oral and eye health services, minor surgeries, basic trauma care, maternal and child health services, and general consultations.

Despite these facilities at the health centres, patients still flock at JDWNRH, defeating its primary purpose to reduce overcrowding at the national referral hospital.  This is mainly triggered by lack of doctors or specialists and trained technicians to operate the equipment at THCs.

Addressing these concerns during the sixth Meet-the-Press (MTP) yesterday, Health Minister Tandin Wangchuk outlined the ministry’s plans to enhance services at the THCs in Thimphu and Phuentsholing.

A THC was also opened in Phuentsholing in June this year.

Lyonpo said that medical equipment has been installed in the THCs and medical staff and technicians will be deployed from September this year.

The THCs in the capital will function under the administrative umbrella of JDWNRH and the Phuentsholing THC under the Phuentsholing hospital.

Each THC will have one doctor, except for the centre in Debsi, which has lower patient demand. Further, specialists will visit the THCs on a rotational basis once a week. Dental services will also be soon introduced.

Lyonpo said that the services provided at the THCs will ensure that patients do not have to go to the JDWNRH.

Thimphu has a population of 166,000, according to the National Statistics Bureau. And the capital continues to face challenges due to patients from different dzongkhags seeking care independently rather than through the required referral services. “This causes inconveniences to the people and hampers the quality of services,” Lyonpo said.

The health minister acknowledged the initial shortcomings since the government took over the THCs only five months ago. “It is because of this that we have not been able to serve the needs of the people effectively so far,” Lyonpo said.

The initial plan to establish the THCs began in 2017, which was partly funded by a USD 20 million grant from the Asian Development Bank to the Bhutan Health Trust Fund (BHTF).

Half of this amount was allocated to the BHTF while the remaining USD 10 million was used for the electronic patient information system (ePIS). The leftover funds were allocated for the construction of the THCs in Thimphu.  The centres cost Nu 108 million to construct.

KP Sharma

In a move to offer more choices and build a specialised workforce, the government plans to establish five specialised schools and an international school in the 13th plan.

According to Education and Skills Development Minister Yeezang De Thapa, this initiative aims to enhance the capabilities of youth by allowing them to specialise in subjects based on their interests.

The government has allocated Nu 800 million for schools focused on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM), music and arts, Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), sports, and a rehabilitation centre.

Lyonpo Yeezang De Thapa said that the ministry is concerned about the on-going decline in school enrollment. She added that these specialised schools will improve the quality and scope of the current education system.

The government plans to utilise existing structures for these facilities, instead of constructing new buildings.

Lyonpo said that consolidation of schools would be necessary due to the decreasing student enrollment.

“The specialised schools will offer curriculum tailored to students’ interests, providing hands-on training and experiences to enhance innovation and critical thinking,” Lyonpo said.

These schools will also support students with special skills who may not have had opportunities to pursue tertiary education.

As per the plan, a special rehabilitation school will be established at the erstwhile Kelki School in Yonphula, a STEM school in Drukgyel, and a TVET school in Tama, Zhemgang.

The school at Tama, previously known as the Prince Namgyel Wangchuck Academy, was purchased by the government at Nu 64.977 million and remains unused after renovations.

The location for the music and arts school is yet to be finalised.

The government has allocated Nu 20 million for the establishment of the international school in the fiscal year 2024-25.

Although the location of the international school is not yet finalised, it is expected to be established either in Paro or Thimphu. This international school aims to provide world-class education and cater to the needs of children of foreign employees working in Gelephu Mindfulness City.

Lyonpo said that having international-standard schools is necessary to keep the education system competitive and up-to-date in the 21st century.

The international school will be equipped with state-of-the-art facilities and serve as a model school in the future.

In the realm of criminal justice, time is often of the essence. Yet, in cases like the allegations against a one of the Trongsa’s Member of Parliament, we are confronted with the complex challenges posed by delayed reporting. This case, involving alleged child molestation reported two years after the incident, brings to light the intricate balance between seeking justice and ensuring fair trials in the face of temporal challenges.

With no statute of limitations, cases can theoretically be brought forward at any time. This openness, while providing victims with the opportunity to come forward when they feel ready, also presents significant challenges for the justice system. The impact of delayed reporting on criminal investigations is multifaceted and profound. As time passes, “physical evidence deteriorates or disappears, witnesses’ memories fade, and the ability to corroborate accounts becomes increasingly difficult”. In cases of alleged sexual misconduct, where physical evidence is often scarce even in immediate reports, these challenges are magnified.

In the current case, the alleged incident occurred two years ago, with the victim only recently coming forward. This delay, while understandable given the victim’s young age and the power dynamics at play, significantly complicates the investigation. The absence of immediate physical evidence and the potential evolution of witness recollections over time create substantial hurdles. This increased reliance on memory-based evidence is problematic, as research has shown that memories can be influenced and altered over time, especially in traumatic events.

Both the Constitution and Civil and Criminal Procedure Code (CCPC) guarantees the right to presume innocent until proven guilty. Further, a proof beyond reasonable doubt for criminal convictions is required under CCPC. These legal safeguards, while essential for protecting the rights of the accused, create additional challenges in cases of delayed reporting where evidence may be less conclusive. While physical contact may have occurred, intent is disputed. The MP claims accidental touch while requesting a broom. Proving actus rea (physical evidence) and mens rea (mental state—purposely, knowingly, recklessly, or negligently) as required under Penal Code becomes harder with time.

The media and social media’s role in this case introduces additional complexity. The public nature of the allegations against a Member of Parliament has ignited intense debate. Some argue the case surfaced due to the accused’s new position, raising concerns about potential political exploitation and the heightened scrutiny public figures face and potentially make them targets for false accusations. Others maintain that elected officials must uphold the highest ethical standards, emphasizing the need for thorough investigations to maintain public trust.

Extensive media coverage risks creating a ‘trial by media,’ potentially influencing public opinion and compromising the fairness of legal proceedings. This can affect the impartiality of witnesses, and may inadvertently sway investigators, prosecutors, or judges.

The media’s role presents a challenging balance between public interest in transparency and the need to protect the legal process’s integrity and due process of law. This situation underscores the delicate interplay between media, public perception, and justice in high-profile cases.

The path forward demands not just legal and procedural adaptations, but also a mature and responsible approach from media outlets, social media platforms, and the public at large. Only through such a comprehensive and nuanced approach, we may be able to address multifaceted challenges posed by such high-profile cases involving delayed reporting, ensuring that justice is served while maintaining the integrity of its democratic institutions, the rule of law.

Sonam Tshering

Lawyer, Thimphu

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are author’s own

Bhutan aims to produce 15 GW of hydropower, 5000 MW of solar power and 28 MW of wind power by 2040

YK Poudel

The government is currently reviewing the Renewable Energy Development Roadmap to diversify the country’s energy system by exploring alternative renewable energy sources, such as solar, wind, geothermal and biomass.

The roadmap, which will be launched soon, will focus on addressing the widening energy demand-supply gap, import dependency, and energy security by 2034 and beyond.

By 2040, Bhutan plans to have a total energy basket of 15 Gigawatt (GW) of hydropower, 5,000 MW of solar power, and 28 MW of wind power.

Investment in these areas are among the key priorities of the government in the 13th Plan. These priorities also align with the government’s commitment made at 28th Conference of Parties on phasing out the use of fossils and transitioning to renewable energy.

During the sixth Meet-The-Press yesterday, the director of the Department of Energy, Karma Penjor Dorji, said that the strategy would contribute to the energy mix and enhance energy security of the country. “Priority will be given to the development of solar and wind energy sources over the years.”

He said that Bhutan has a potential of producing over 33 GW of hydropower, 12 GW of solar energy and 0.7 GW of wind power. In the past five decades, Bhutan has harnessed over 2,444 MW of hydropower, which constitutes only 7.5 percent of the total potential.

The director said that the peak demand for energy last year exceeded by about 130 percent, reaching 956 MW, which was more than double the firm power availability of 415 MW.

To meet the energy deficit, Bhutan imports electricity during the lean season in winters. “This trend is expected to continue with increasing demand for energy unless additional generation capacities are developed in the country,” the director said.

Currently, 3,119 MW of hydropower projects, both large and small are under construction, slated to be commissioned in the 13th Plan.

A total of 16 hydropower projects with a capacity of 11 GW are being planned for investment and construction which will be commissioned from 2030. Another 4,304 MW project will be started in 2035, leading to 15 GW of hydropower by 2040.

Further, the government is planning to develop 5,000 MW of solar power and 28 MW of wind power by 2040.

In addition, the 13th Plan includes the development of 500 MW utility-scale solar projects in various locations, including rooftop installations in urban and rural areas, agri-solar projects, and 23 MW wind power projects.

Thukten Zangpo

Bhutan’s economy recorded a growth of 4.88 percent last year, down from 5.21 percent in 2022, according to the National Statistics Bureau’s (NSB) National Accounts Statistics 2024 report released yesterday.

The growth of the economy was mainly fuelled by the growth in the service sector.

The gross domestic product (GDP) was recorded at Nu 249.39 billion (USD 3.02 billion) last year compared to Nu 227.81 billion (USD 2.9 billion) in 2022 respectively.

According to the NSB, the GDP represents the flow of goods and services because of economic activities that take place in the economy. It is the sum of the values of all goods and services produced within the economic boundary of the country, which is available for final use, such as consumption, investment, and exports.

A shrinking of GDP results in loss of jobs, decrease in people’s income levels, and consumption capacity. It also means lower profits for companies, including government and corporations.

The increase in GDP is an indication of the economy growing and businesses expanding, which enhances people’s spending power. GDP measures the overall strength of an economy.

The tertiary sector – the main contributors to the GDP – recorded the highest share at 55.49 percent, followed by the secondary sector at 29.55 percent. The primary sector also showed resilience with a modest growth rate of 14.96 percent.

The service sector recorded a significant growth, mainly contributed by hotels and restaurants with 50.64 percent, followed by mining and quarrying by 36.96 percent, and finance and insurance by 13.42 percent.

The growth in the service sector was largely attributed to tourism and its related industries. These shifts indicate the growing prominence of the services sector in the economy, the report stated.

The primary sector experienced a growth of 1.37 percent after recording a negative growth of -1.15 percent in 2022. This was primarily due to better performance in the livestock and forestry sub-sectors.

The agriculture (crops) sub-sector observed a negative growth of -1.95 percent compared to the previous year. The total gross value added (GVA) of the primary sector in 2023 was Nu 37.31 billion in 2023.

In the secondary sector, it recorded a negative growth of -0.03 percent in 2023, a contraction of 5.63 percentage points as compared to 5.6 percent in the previous year.  This sector saw a negative contribution to the overall GDP growth by -0.01 percentage points. The construction and electricity sub-sectors were main contributors for the overall drop.

The total GVA of the secondary sector was estimated at Nu 73.7 billion.

The tertiary sector saw a growth of 8.61 percent last year, up from 6.62 percent in the previous year, recording an increase of 1.99 percentage points.

The service sector made a substantial contribution to the overall GDP growth by 4.71 percentage points in 2023. The sector recorded a GVA of Nu 138.37 billion in 2023.

The report states that the final consumption expenditure grew by 5.78 percent. Both the household final consumption expenditure and government final consumption increased by 7.61 percent and 1.41 percent, respectively.

The gross national savings (government and private savings)  increased to Nu 49.13 billion from Nu 48.36 billion last year.

Government savings recorded a deficit of Nu -9.56 billion while private savings (including households, private, and public corporations) amounted to Nu 58.69 billion.

The export of goods and services increased by 30.68 percent while import of goods and services decreased by 0.61 percent.

At the same time, the gross national income (GNI) decreased to 4.54 percent in 2023 (Nu 235.66 billion), down from 5.73 percent in 2022. In 2022, the GNI was recorded at Nu 215.98 billion.

The GDP per capita increased to Nu 323, 764.71 or USD 3,919.55 from Nu 301.29 or USD 3,833.03.

Thinley Namgay

The government plans to provide opportunities for all citizens to learn Dzongkha through various social media platforms, including YouTube.

Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay announced this initiative during the sixth Meet-the-Press yesterday.

He said that even foreigners could learn Dzongkha, provided that there are proper facilities, including teaching guidelines and classrooms, in place.

Last month, the Prime Minister issued an executive order requiring all government meetings and official correspondence to be conducted in Dzongkha.

While government agencies are implementing the executive order, the Department of Culture and Dzongkha Development (DCDD) will oversee the compliance and report to the government.

DCDD plans to monitor the agencies discreetly rather than publicly naming and shaming them. The department aims to support agencies that face challenges in adhering to the Dzongkha mandate.

The Prime Minister emphasised the importance of Dzongkha as a fundamental part of our culture and identity. He stated, “Everyone should speak and write in Dzongkha, and those who are not able to must learn. At the same time, it is equally important to be proficient in English, as it is the language we use to communicate with the international community and partners.”

However, Lyonchhen is concerned that mandating Dzongkha for meetings may hinder communication and idea-sharing if participants who are not proficient or confident in the language struggle to contribute. This, he added, could negatively impact the effectiveness of public services and the formulation of sound policies.

“We should use Dzongkha as much as we can. Those who are proficient in Dzongkha should speak or write in Dzongkha. Those who don’t  know Dzongkha  should learn it as fast as possible,” Prime Minister said.

He said that the status of both Dzongkha and English should improve every year.

In response to public concerns about the decreased emphasis on Dzongkha in schools, the DCDD is working on simplifying the language. 

Ongoing discussions with the education ministry aim to address these issues effectively.

The Bank of Bhutan (BoB) launched its AI chatbot, now available on its official website, to improve customer interactions by providing a more efficient and personalised banking experience.

The BoB AI Chatbot is designed to be a round-the-clock banking assistant, available 24/7 to assist customers at any time of the day or night, including weekends. This ensures that support is accessible whenever it is needed.

One of the standout features of the chatbot is its ability to deliver instant responses to inquiries, significantly reducing waiting times and enhancing the overall efficiency of customer service.

The chatbot leverages advanced AI technology to understand and anticipate customer needs, offering personalised recommendations and solutions based on individual queries and current trends.

The chatbot also provides navigation support, guiding users to specific website content based on their inquiries. This feature ensures quick and effortless access to the necessary information.

For more complex queries that require human intervention, the chatbot can direct customers to the appropriate human support. The bank’s Contact Center is promptly notified to provide the necessary assistance.

“We are committed to enhancing our customers’ banking experience,” stated a BoB representative. “We believe the BoB AI Chatbot will be a valuable addition to our services.”

Customers can start using the BoB AI Chatbot by visiting the bank’s website and interacting with the chatbot to discover its full range of capabilities.

Bhutan, a haven for biodiversity, is celebrating a remarkable success story with its tiger population. A recent national survey revealed a staggering 27% increase in tigers over the past six years, bringing the estimated population to 131 individuals. This exciting growth is further amplified by documented cases of tigers dispersing long distances, venturing into new territories, and even crossing international borders.

One fascinating example involves a pair of siblings from the Royal Manas National Park (RMNP) who embarked on incredible journeys eastward. One settled in Mongar, while the other ventured all the way to Trashigang. These sightings represent the first confirmed tiger presence in these areas in quite some time.

But what motivates these long-distance travels? While tigers naturally move in search of food and suitable territory, the existing healthy tiger population within RMNP and the adjoining Zhemgang Forest Division suggests that territory expansion might be the primary driver in this case.

This dispersal behavior is critical for tiger conservation. It allows for the establishment of new populations, reduces inbreeding within existing ones, and helps maintain a healthy overall tiger population across Bhutan, known as a single, well-connected metapopulation.

The story doesn’t end there. A recent case documented a tiger moving between Sikkim in India, and Samtse district in Bhutan. Surprisingly, this tiger, was previously recorded in Jigme Singye Wangchuck National Park (JSWNP) during the 2021-2022 national tiger survey. The tiger had crossed hundreds of kilometers and several rivers to travel from Central Bhutan to the west into Sikkim before returning to Samtse in April of this year. It suggests successful breeding within Bhutan, allowing young tigers to disperse and potentially establish new territories even beyond Bhutan’s borders. This confirms Bhutan’s role as a source site for tigers in the region.

But how are these long-distance journeys possible? The answer lies in Bhutan’s robust network of protected areas and biological corridors. These corridors are essentially pathways of intact forest cover that connect protected areas, allowing animals like tigers to safely navigate between them.

These instances of transboundary movement emphasize the importance of international collaboration and conservation initiatives. Bhutan’s well-connected protected area network, intact forest cover, and functional biological corridors are allowing tigers to move freely, potentially even contributing to the overall health of the tigers in the north-eastern part of the Indian sub-continent. Bhutan could potentially connect the tigers’ populations in the Terai Arc Landscape to the tiger populations in the eastern Himalayas.

Bhutan’s success story offers invaluable lessons for tiger conservation worldwide. By prioritising protected areas, maintaining crucial corridors, and fostering international collaboration, Bhutan has emerged as a beacon of hope for these magnificent creatures. Our thriving tiger population demonstrates that conservation efforts, when implemented effectively, can yield remarkable results. As Bhutan continues its exemplary conservation practices, we can all celebrate the roar of a resurgent tiger population echoing through the majestic Himalayan landscapes.

Contributed by Tashi Dhendup,

Bhutan Tiger Centre, Nature Conservation Division, DoFPS

Lhakpa Quendren

All students and trainees will undergo drug testing, and those who test positive will be sent to the special rehabilitation school and the rehabilitation centre for treatment.

Students who test positive will be sent to Yonphula Special Rehabilitation School in Trashigang, while those involved in drug peddling and crimes will be sent to the National Rehabilitation Centre.

The Cabinet has approved the establishment of a National Rehabilitation Centre this year, Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay announced at the meet-the-press session yesterday.

“The drug testing will be conducted following a national education conference, where we will consult with teachers and education experts about programme implementation,” Lyonchhen said, adding that the special rehabilitation school will also open by February or March next year, alongside other schools.

Lyonchhen added that the government is committed to addressing drug issues in schools and training institutes across the country. “Students who test positive will undergo treatment while continuing their studies and return to their schools once rehabilitated.”

The National Drug Taskforce has developed and endorsed referral protocols and identified specialists to form a technical advisory group.

Health Minister Tandin Wangchuk said that the general public would also be required to undergo drug testing. “We estimate that at least 30 percent of the population is drug-dependent.”

If nationwide drug testing is not implemented, Lyonpo said, drug-related issues pose a potential threat to national security.

Nationwide drug testing could not be conducted due to a lack of rehabilitation facilities and specialists in the country. The government will hire international specialists to provide rehabilitation services.

To this end, Lyonpo Tandin Wangchuk said he, along with the Education Secretary and a drug task force member, will visit international institutes in the coming week. “If they provide services for at least five years, we can simultaneously build local capacity,” he added.

Sources say that the punishment for drug offenses, whether severe or minor, will be life imprisonment after a few years.

Last year saw the highest number of drug-related arrests in five years, with 3,669 arrests—more than double the 1,557 in 2022, according to police records. The number of cases rose from 721 in 2022 to 1,920 in 2023.

The Office of the Attorney General forwarded 425 drug and substance abuse cases to the Royal Bhutan Police, a 214 percent increase from the previous year, probably due to stringent drug enforcement.

Among the drug-related cases, 351 were for illicit trafficking of narcotics and psychotropic substances, 39 for trafficking cannabis, 27 for substance abuse, six for illegal inhalant sales, and two for cannabis possession.

INR 20.69 billion allocated to Bhutan for fiscal year 2024-25

Thukten Zangpo

The Government of India has allocated the highest foreign aid for Bhutan amounting to INR 20.69 billion for the fiscal year 2024-25, with INR 10.79 billion as grants and INR 9.9 billion as loans, according to India’s union budget 2024-25.

This comprises over 40 percent of the grants and loans allocated by the Indian government as foreign aid.

For the fiscal year 2024-25, the Indian government’s aid (both grants and loans) was projected at INR 48.84 billion.

Nepal is allocated the second highest foreign aid with INR 7 billion as grants, followed by INR 4 billion for Maldives, INR 3.7 billion for Mauritius, INR 2.5 billion for Myanmar, INR 2.45 billion for Sri Lanka, and INR 2 billion for Afghanistan, among others.

In the fiscal year 2023-24, the Indian government revised the assistance to Bhutan to INR 23.99 billion. It comprises INR 7.85 billion as grants and INR 16.14 billion as loans.

At the same time, INR 24.67 billion was provided in the fiscal year 2022-23, INR 17.63 billion as grants and INR 7.04 billion as loans.

In the 12th Plan, the Indian government provided a grant of INR 45 billion to Bhutan.

In March this year, the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi committed a grant of INR 85 billion to support the 13th Plan, and INR 15 billion for the Economic Stimulus Programme.

During the launch of 13th Plan, India’s Ambassador to Bhutan, Sudhakar Dalela said that the 13th Plan document captures the government’s development agenda across sectors such as governance, health, education, skill development, digitisation, energy, economy, infrastructure and private enterprise.

“This ambitious plan aims to transform the economy towards a high-income growth trajectory,” he said.

Ambassador Sudhakar Dalela also said that Bhutan and India enjoy unique type of friendship and cooperation. “Ours is an extraordinary partnership ranging from diverse sectors from education to economy, health, hydropower, from sports to space, and from data to technology.”

He added that the expanding partnership of both the countries is a clear testimony to the vision and wisdom of Their Majesties in Bhutan and successive leadership in India and Bhutan who have nurtured the unique ties of friendship and cooperation over the years.

“Through successive five-year plans, our development cooperation has resulted in completion of several flagship infrastructure projects benefiting the Bhutanese people and contributing to Bhutan’s overall economic development and advancing India-Bhutan friendship,” Sudhakar Dalela said.

He added that India will continue to remain a steadfast and a reliable development partner of Bhutan as going forward.

Of the total allocated budget for the fiscal year 2024-25, the expenditure is estimated at Nu 89.15 billion – Nu 50.81 billion in recurrent and Nu 38.34 billion in capital expenditure. Recurrent and capital expenditure constituted 57 percent and 43 percent of the total expenditure respectively.

With the total resources available at Nu 73.18 billion and total budget outlay of Nu 89.15 billion, it leaves a fiscal deficit of Nu 15.97 billion, equivalent to 5.2 percent of GDP.

For the fiscal year 2024-25, the government’s budget report estimated the external grant at Nu 16.52 billion, which comprises project-tied and programme grants from development partners.

The major portion of the external grant is from the Indian government consisting of Nu 10.54 billion under project-tied assistance and Nu 1.67 billion as programme grant.

Bhutan will receive Nu 818.65 million grant from the Asian Development Bank, Nu 636.92 million from the European Union, Nu 508 million from the World Bank, and Nu 409.93 million from World Health Organisation.

In the 13th Plan, with the total budget outlay of Nu 512.28 billion, the fiscal deficit is estimated at Nu 55.94 billion, equivalent to 2.97 percent of gross domestic product.

The total grant for the plan period is estimated at Nu 125 billion, constituting 27 percent of total resources, which will finance at least 51 percent of the capital expenditure.

A large chunk of the external grant, Nu 85 billion, comes from India and the remaining Nu 40 billion from European Union, Japan, UN agencies and other development partners.

I am always intrigued and awed by the various names given to our country. We, the Bhutanese, have been enjoying peace and prosperity while some countries in the world are plagued by the problems of internal strife and wars. Therefore, some sections of our society, and rightly so, equate our country to that of the dewa chengyi zhing kham (pure land or sukhavati), the abode of which is Amitabha (འོད་དཔག་མེད).  In this celestial country or the land of Gross National Happiness, the Gelegphu Mindfulness City (GMC) conceived and crafted by our Boddhisatava King is coming up, which will be a model city in the region and beyond. This has made me write this article on the original sources of the epithets and names of our country because some of them are relevant.

Both Bhutanese and foreign scholars and historians quote the origins of various names such as Lho Yuel (the Southern country), Lho Jong (the  Southern Valleys), Lho Mon Tsenden Jong (the Southern Mon Country of Sandalwwod), Lho Jong Men Jong (the Southern Valleys of Medicinal Herbs), Lho Mon Kha Zhi (the Southern Mon Country of Four Approaches), Bhutan, and later Druk Yuel.  This article is intended to briefly describe the origins of the two names (Bhutan and Lho Mon Kha Zhi) based on the personal communication I have had with a Buddhist Scholar and Secret Yogi (སྦས་པའི་རྣལ་འབྱོར), popularly known as Lopon Thegchhog Rinpochhe.

Scholars, particularly the Indian scholars, explain the origin of the name,  Bhutan. It is derived from the Sanskrit term, Bhotanta – the end of Bhota or Tibet. As Karma Phuntsho argues that Bhutan is at the edge of Tibet but never part of Tibet. Karma Phuntsho also quotes Balaram Chakravarti, who rejects these hypotheses and suggests that “the word Bhutan is perhaps simply derivative of Bhotanam, that is, of the Bhotas, just as Iran is derived from Aryanam”. Lopon Thegchhog on the 26th of June 2024 shared with me the findings of a research carried out by the Tibetan Buddhist University in Varanasi, India. Bhutan is derived from the Sanskrit term Bhu-ti-tan. Bhu (བྷཱུ་) means the land of ju-nor-long-choed (wealth and riches), Ti means  jor-pa (acquirement of riches), and Tan means place (ས་གནས). Another version – Bhu ta (བྷཱུཏ) refers to a ‘source’ and (བྷཱུཏཱན) refers to a place of such ‘sources’. Thus, Bhu Ti Tan means the land of acquired riches. Geographically and politically, this name has nothing to do with the country on the north or the south. This origin of name needs to be incorporated in our history.

Lho Mon Kha Zhi is another designation for our country. If I correctly understand that this name precedes all other names mentioned above. Etymologically, the word ‘mon’ is intriguing in the sense that scholars quote various sources from which the word is derived. Muen in the Tibetan language means darkness; the Chinese word maan means barbarians.  These are two sources quoted for the derivation of the word ‘mon’. The word ‘mon’ is pejoratively and also derogatively  used – unkempt, uncivilised and barbarian.  According to Lopon Thegchhog, ‘mon’ is a distorted version  of mu-ren (མུ་རན), which means the surrounding or periphery or Tha-Khorp མཐའ་འཁོརཔ or མཐའ་འཁོར་པ་. Anything considered as surrounding or periphery is a relative term expressed with a specific reference to one central point or region. A place or region was considered central region or དབུས where the Buddha Dharma or Buddhist civilization was flourishing. In the light of the fact that Buddhism was spread from Tibet to its neighbouring Himalayan countries like Bhutan, it was assumed that Tibet was the centre of Buddhist civilization. Mu-ren or mon, a periphery was generally referred to a place where the Buddha Dharma was either absent or not popular. Thus, lho mon can be interpreted as the southern surrounding or periphery where the Buddha Dharma or Buddhist civilisation was yet to arrive. This also clarifies that mon is not referred to a tribe but to a specific area.

Lho Mon Kha Zhi, literally translated as the southern land of four approaches,   are Dungsamkha to the east, Pasakha to the south, Dalingkha to the west, and Taktsekha to the north. Thus, it defines broadly the territory of sovereign Bhutan. A Bhutanese historian argues that “this enumeration of four approaches in order to explain the ancient name Lhokhazhi presents a problem, as it suggests a territorial unity long before the country was formally united into one state.” Could it be then a divine blessing? According to Lopon Thegchhog (perscommun), the name lho mon kha zhi was designated by Guru Rinpochhe, while he was in Tibet and Lopon Chenpo Sangye Sangwa from India in the eighth century.

Before his departure for Mahaparinirvana, Buddha had visited the area of ri-dag-chen (part of the snowy Himalayan region –kha wa chen) with his disciple Chhana Dorji (Vajrapani). This area happened to be Bhutan. It was prophesised that this land (Bhutan) would be the centre for spreading the Buddhism. Thus, Buddha commanded all local dieties inhabiting the area to support the spread of Buddhism. Vajprapani putting his chha gkhar with force into the ground, sought the assurance of compliance from the dieties. This was the prophesy of the historical Buddha (Lopon Thegchhog).

As prophesied by Buddha, Buddhism in Bhutan is flourishing as is evident by the increase of monastic schools and colleges being established by both private and Zhung Dratshang. Besides the Zhung Drasthang, there are currently 127 Chhoe- tshogs (ཆོས་ཚོགས) including three Hindu Chhoe-tshogs registered under the Commission for Religious Organizations of Bhutan.  We now have a Buddhist University at Tango, Thimphu. Our Boddhisattva King has declared that Bhutan will be the centre of Vajrayana Buddhism (གསང་སྔགས་རྡོ་རྗེ་ཐེག་པ) studies and practice, a part of Gelegphu Mindfulness City (GMC). 

GNH was the Gong-ter (དགོངས་གཏེར) of our beloved Fourth Druk Gyalpo and GMC is the Gongter of His Majesty The King. The development philosophy of GNH has attracted the attention of the world community in the midst of plights stemming from the failures of economic models of Capitalism and Communism. The address by a former foreign minister of the then Czechoslovakia at the UN General Assembly was quoted in a UN Report in 1983, which reads something like this: “ Capitalism knows how to make money but does not know to how distribute it. Communism knows how to distribute wealth but does not how to create wealth.” There are flaws both in capitalist and communist models of economy. Thus, GNH, if I correctly understand, is an attempt to harmonise the two extreme models. This is also in line with the Buddhist principle of middle path. The world community has discovered necessary wisdom in GNH urgently required to mend the failures of both models of economy and come up with the a new paradigm..

Similarly, the rapid technological advancement such as the Artificial Intelligence  (AI) shrouds our future in uncertainty; its impact on socio-religious, economic and political life of homo sapiens will be of great significance. GMC, as I perceive, is an answer to this emerging problem.  As the name of the country bhu-ti-tan suggests, GMC will bring about the abundance of wealth and happiness under the clairvoyant leadership and stewardship of our great Boddhisattva King.

   

Contributed by

Dasho Zangley Dukpa,

Thimphu

The country’s import bill is ballooning. It shot up by 12 percent to Nu 56.34 billion in the first six months (January to June) of this year compared to the same period last year. The increase is largely due to import of electricity during winter when we have to resort to import of electricity.

Should we be worried? As an import-dependent country, the widening trade deficit should be a concern. The repercussions are many. If it is increasing the dependency, it is leading to lethargy and draining out the hard-earned foreign currency including the scarce Indian Rupee, without which a lot of activities are grounded.

Rice growing Bhutan imported Nu 1.51 billion worth of rice in six months. In the meantime, our paddy fields are overgrown with thickets and farmers are locking their homes to move to towns and cities. There are more googtongs (empty households) than rice-growing households.

There is not much we can do when we look at the top 10 goods imported. Diesel and petrol, an indispensable item that is not produced in the country, tops the list. What is concerning is the increasing import of essential food items like rice and luxuries like smartphones. If we delve deeper, we will see policy gaps in letting the export-import widen. Import of Smartphones in 2023  was worth Nu 2.2 billion.

On the other hand, there are not many benefiting from our increasing exports.  Our top exports are minerals like ferrosilicon, boulders and dolomite. Bhutan exported Nu 7.02 billion worth of ferrosilicon, Nu 1.71 billion boulders, and Nu 1.26 billion dolomite. How many Bhutanese are benefiting from the 7.02 worth of export?

As an import-driven country, there is not much we can do. At the same time, we are also not doing much to substitute imports. The few agricultural products that could benefit farmers are facing competition from cheap imports. Why should we import agri-based produce when our farmers are struggling to find markets? The citrus mandarin (orange) and apple we export comes back in the form of squash or juices. The economics of scale in neighbouring countries means local produce cannot compete with imported goods.

On the other hand, Bhutanese produce cannot penetrate markets outside the country because of the strict standards – some genuine, some politically motivated to protect local produce. If we are to improve the trade balance, we should either improve export or restrict import. We can surmise that at least 10 percent of the goods, especially food items will fail import standards if we have one or implement it.

Why should we allow import of cigarettes or noodles all the way from Korea or the numerous products that come with health warnings or with labels that we cannot read? Depending on the export of electricity to improve the trade deficit is a mistake. We know the deficit will be reduced when the PII project is commissioned and starts exporting electricity.

A good way to measure the deficit is by taking out electricity. For a nation that prioritised food self-sufficiency decades ago, it is unfortunate that we rely on cheap imports by abandoning our farms and villages.

The Royal Bhutan Police (RBP) and the communities in Gelephu are pioneering an initiative that promises to set a new standard for the entire country: making Gelephu a drug- and crime-free city. As the scourge of drug abuse and related crimes spreads across Bhutan, such efforts are needed more than ever in every part of the nation.

On July 18, around 200 community members, including youth, gathered to meet the police. During this meeting, the Chief of Police briefed them on the RBP’s immediate initiatives targeted at the youth. He said that rehabilitation programmes for drug users and dependents were crucial interventions in the fight against drug abuse. However, the success of these initiatives hinges on overcoming significant challenges faced by our rehabilitation centres: lack of expertise and inadequate funding.

For any community-based initiative to succeed, especially one as ambitious as making a city drug-and crime-free, a strong foundation is essential. Our current rehabilitation centres are severely under-resourced, both in terms of financial support and professional expertise. To create lasting change, we must address these deficiencies head-on.

One of the most pressing issues is the shortage of trained professionals who can effectively run rehabilitation programmes. Skilled counsellors, psychologists, and social workers are indispensable in helping individuals overcome addiction. Without their expertise, rehabilitation efforts may fall short, leaving many individuals without the support they need to reclaim their lives.

Investing in the training and development of professionals should be a priority. The government, along with non-governmental organisations and international partners, must collaborate to provide comprehensive training programmes. This will ensure that our rehabilitation centres are staffed with qualified personnel capable of delivering high-quality care and support.

Financial constraint is another significant hurdle. Effective rehabilitation programmes require substantial investment—not only in human resources but also in facilities, equipment, and ongoing operational costs. The current funding levels are insufficient to meet these demands, and without adequate financial support, the sustainability of these programs is at risk.

The government should consider increasing budget allocations for rehabilitation services. Additionally, partnerships with private sector entities and international donors can provide much-needed financial backing. Fundraising campaigns and community support initiatives can also play a role in generating resources.

For the rehabilitation programmes to be effective, they must be supported by strong infrastructure. This includes well-equipped centres with the capacity to accommodate and treat individuals in need. Modern facilities, combined with a supportive and therapeutic environment, can significantly enhance the recovery process.

Community-led support groups and volunteer programmes can provide additional layers of support to those undergoing treatment.

The initiative in Gelephu is a commendable step towards addressing the twin issues of drug abuse and crime. However, its success will serve as a benchmark for other regions only if we collectively address the challenges at hand. Strong leadership, adequate funding, and professional expertise are the cornerstones of this effort.

Trade deficit widens to Nu 31.95 billion as of June this year

Thukten Zangpo

The country’s import bill, including electricity, shot up by 12 percent to Nu 56.34 billion in the first six months (January to June) of this year compared to the same period last year, according to the Bhutan Trade Statistics released recently.

Last year, the country imported Nu 50.25 billion worth of goods in the first six months.

Despite the increase in the import figure, the trade deficit widened negligibly by Nu 618 million to Nu 31.95 billion as of June this year.

This was mainly because of an increase in exports by 29 percent amounting to Nu 24.4 billion in the first six months, up from Nu 18.92 billion during the same period last year.

Trade deficit occurs when the value of imports exceeds the value of export.

Import from India accounted for 88 percent or Nu 49.83 billion while exports to India was recorded at Nu 17.29 billion as of June this year.

At the same time, the import bill from other countries was Nu 6.51 billion against exports of Nu 7.11 billion.

Bhutan’s import of electricity significantly increased during the first six months, widening the trade deficit in the second quarter.

Bhutan usually imports electricity during the lean season from December to March but this year, electricity was imported until May.

This was mainly attributed to poor hydrology.In substantial terms, the country imported Nu 5.12 billion worth of electricity in the first five months this year, compared to Nu 1.88 billion during the same period last year.

Had it not been for the increased electricity import, the country’s trade deficit would be reduced to Nu 26.83 billion.

The revenue from export of electricity stood at Nu 2.49 billion in the first six months this year, down from Nu 3.35 billion in the same period last year.

Among the top 10 goods imported, diesel topped the import list, worth Nu 5.6 billion, followed by Nu 1.9 billion worth of petrol, Nu 1.51 billion worth of rice, and Nu 1.32 billion worth of smartphones.

At the same time, Bhutan exported Nu 7.02 billion worth of ferrosilicon, Nu 1.71 billion boulders, and Nu 1.26 billion dolomite.

The unsustainable pace of increase in imports, inflationary pressure and depreciation of Ngultrum against the USD has been putting pressure on the country’s foreign reserves. 

According to the central bank, Royal Monetary Authority’s report, Bhutan’s total external reserves stood at USD 596.85 million as of May this year, adequate for 15.44 months of essential imports, barely above the constitutional requirement.

The constitution mandates that a minimum foreign currency reserve adequate to meet the cost of not less than one year’s essential import must be maintained.

According to the government’s budget report 2024-25, the current account deficit is expected to contract to 19.1 percent of gross domestic product, mainly on account of improvement in the trade balance.

The trade deficit is projected to reduce to Nu 51.69 billion in fiscal year 2023-24 compared to Nu 72.97 billion in the previous year. This is because of a reduction in imports by 8.5 percent.

For the fiscal year 2024-25, current account balance is estimated to improve to 18.9 percent and further improve by 4.4 percent in fiscal year 2025-26.

In the medium term, the current account deficit is expected to moderate mainly on account of decline in imports, as hydro-related imports decline gradually after completion of the projects.

At the same time, imports are estimated to grow at an average of 1.2 percent in the next five years while exports are expected to grow at an average of 6.9 percent.

With the commissioning of the Nikachhu hydropower plant in January this year and Punatshangchhu-II expected to commission in August this year, hydropower export is expected to grow significantly.

Chencho Dema

Punakha—The ‘Great People’s Forest Storytelling’ training event that began yesterday in Khuruthang, Punakha brought together local communities, students, and monks in a two-day immersive workshop.

The training aims to empower these participants to narrate their unique stories, emphasising Bhutan’s rich natural heritage.

The training covered mobile videography and cinematography, storytelling techniques, mobile editing, and social media dissemination strategies.

The founding managing director of Great People’s Forest at Conservation International, Saurav Malhotra, said that the main vision of the workshop is to give young people the power to tell their own stories. “We believe that those who live closest to nature are best suited to tell its stories and illustrate how it impacts people and the climate.”

‘Great People’s Forest’ is a groundbreaking cross-country initiative involving Northeast India, Nepal, Bangladesh, and Bhutan. The project aims to empower diverse groups to use their cell phones to document their daily interactions with nature.

“The goal is to equip people from various walks of life—from mountains to mangroves—to narrate their experiences,” Saurav Malhotra said.

The expectation is that the trained individuals will continue sharing their stories, creating a powerful regional network.

“Bhutan is uniquely positioned to narrate how its people live harmoniously with nature daily. This training aims to equip participants with the skills to tell these stories effectively,” Saurav Malhotra added.

Participants expressed excitement about the training and the opportunity to learn to narrate stories of Bhutan through their perspective.

They learned practical skills for shooting, recording audio, and conducting interviews using mobile phones, including developing storyboards and writing scripts.

The CEO and founder of Pluc TV, Tamseel Hussain, who is also part of the training team, said that they are upskilling people on storytelling, and to get the stories out in the world,

He also pointed out the gap in conservation storytelling, which often misses the voices of those directly affected by climate change.

“This training includes monks, students, and teachers who can tell stories in ways that resonate widely,” Tamseel Hussain added. “We want to narrate the story of the Great People’s Forest and the Eastern Himalayan region through the eyes of those who live it.”

Tamseel Hussain said that these stories created by the participants will be showcased at upcoming global events like COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan and climate week in September. “We aim to correct misconceptions about the Eastern Himalayas and highlight the region’s significance,” he said.

The Great Peoples’ Forest of Eastern Himalayas, launched in September  last year, as part of India’s G20 presidency, is one of South Asia’s largest reforestation efforts.

The project is a partnership between Conservation International, USA, and Balipara Foundation, Assam, India. It aims to raise USD 1 billion by 2030 for restoration activities across Bhutan, Bangladesh, and Northeast India.

In Bhutan, the Bhutan Trust Fund for Environmental Conservation (BTF) and Bhutan Ecological Society (BES) are leading the project.

The BES plans to restore over 1,000 hectares of land in the first phase and establish a nursery capable of producing 1 million saplings annually.

The BTF will plant 150,820 native saplings in 215 hectares of degraded forest areas, including primary forest and private land, and work with 535 schools to plant over 500,000 trees. In addition, the project will establish a nursery capacity of 200,000 saplings.      

Around 1 billion people live in the mountainous regions between Bhutan and Nepal and the mangrove-growing region of India and Bangladesh.

Promoting Dzongkha has been our long-term policy since it became our national language. From briefly making Dzongkha the medium of instruction for subjects traditionally taught in English, such as history, and mandating it as a compulsory subject in national-level exams, to enforcing its use in all official settings through executive orders — we’ve tried all. Have these policies promoted Dzongkha or endeared it to young people?

Before anything else, Dzongkha is a language like any other language. And, like any other language, it evolves, or it must evolve, in a dynamic social milieu, shedding some of its antiquated formalism, acquiring new vocabulary, and broadening itself to accommodate the evolving complexity in globalised interactions, sciences, and modern culture. English rode from Chaucer, Shakespeare, and Milton down to Hemingway, Raymond Carver, and Stephen Hawking the same evolutionary route.

Dzongkha tries to evolve. Many young people don’t observe the formality and ornateness of past usage. But we do not always look at these evolutions kindly. Consequently, we’ve built an image of Dzongkha as a language with a rigid form that can only be altered with approval from institutions responsible for coining words and publishing grammar texts. Our aversion to loanwords hasn’t helped either; it’s encumbered Dzongkha’s ability to grow apace with advancements in science, philosophies, and modern culture. This stunted evolution has given English with its prodigious borrowing an upper hand in dislodging languages that fail to evolve. Then, authorities enforce it, lest the language should erode completely.

But let’s not snipe at the well-intended institutions’ ways of promoting Dzongkha. Below, I briefly describe areas we’ve overlooked as far as Dzongkha promotion is concerned.

Produce literature, not

dictionaries

The former Dzongkha Development Commission has produced dictionaries in their multifarious iterations — the Dzongkha dictionary, the Dzongkha-English dictionary, its reverse, and electronic dictionaries. But dictionaries (speaking as a person who once inanely attempted to commit the student’s Oxford dictionary to mind) don’t make you a skilful language user.

Literature does. But, for all the splurge in dictionaries, literary creation receives a pittance, if any. A state interested in promoting a language must support literary creation in that language. Only through literary creation can we test Dzongkha’s dynamism and its range and richness to express the multiplicity of ideas and concepts in a style intelligible to the laity. Should the state subsidise writers, and how? Yes, and I explain my thinking below.

Bhutan’s writing market is minuscule, and for Dzongkha, that market is entirely local. So, the daring one must muster to spend months researching and writing materials in Dzongkha for the current market is economically foolish. The least we can do for a writer willing to write something in simplified, accessible Dzongkha is help him/her to foot their bills at least for the duration it takes to research and write it.

I am not talking in terms of percentage of GDP here. Writing fellowships and residency programmes can provide that assurance. But where are such programmes in our country? The government could help the colleges in the Royal University create residency programmes or fellowships to provide writers-in-residence with a roof, a writing space, and a decent allowance. A writer in residence, while mainly focusing on creating a publishable work, can teach a few classes in Dzongkha composition to the students taking such a course. Better still is to open composition classes to all interested students from any discipline; good writers can come from any discipline. Universities elsewhere have such programmes, and many writers and books are born out of them.

Writers-in-residence may work on different projects, ranging from fiction, biography, translation, poetry, and so on. Why, a writing fellow in poetry, for example, may write a book of free verse in Dzongkha, liberating Dzongkha poetry from the confines of traditional meter and prosody. The translation is another exciting area. Bringing high-quality works from other languages into Dzongkha can not only expand the Dzongkha reading materials but also expose Bhutanese audiences to new writing styles and ways of using Dzongkha for different genres.

I’d queue up to buy a Dzongkha translation of Raymond Carver’s ‘What We Talk About When We Talk About Love’. But that’s a far cry when we don’t even have a Dzongkha version of such an important work as ‘The History of Bhutan’ by Lopen Karma Phuntsho. Many literate Bhutanese whose education is mainly in Choekey or  Dzongkha are denied access to a very high-quality scholarship on Bhutanese history. This is but the tip of the iceberg. Dare I suggest the money we put into creating dictionaries be diverted to funding fellowships for Dzongkha writers?

Teaching Dzongkha

as a language

We unjustly place the onus of promoting Dzongkha on our students, who see their syllabi changed and the subject weights in exams haphazardly readjusted. State patronage of a language is a blessing, but it should not turn into a nosy aunt’s hug. What we do must endear the language to the users. Is the way we teach the language to the young people endearing Dzongkha to them? Not particularly — I’m afraid. Dzongkha is presented, perhaps rightly, as a sanctified language by virtue of its sharing the script with Choekey. As a result, Dzongkha comes to the kids in its sartorial splendour of spirituality.

Students study Gyalsey Laglen for Dzongkha literature in the ninth and tenth classes.  This splendid poetry is treated more the way a religious canon is treated and less the way a piece of literature should be treated in a literature class. Students mug up the text, argue its spiritual themes, and even recite it, while overlooking its marvellous literary quality. The verses’ remarkable aspects – the rich metaphors, the captivating beauty of the stanzas, and the writer’s masterful handling of profound themes in ordinary language – are all ignored.

Deconstructing technicalities is too advanced for the level, some may argue, argumentative as we are. But a language’s potential for beauty, flexibility, and richness remains hidden unless we use the language not just for official documents but also for fiction, poetry, and essays. To do that, we must learn from what is already written. Perhaps it will help Dzongkha if we relax on the spiritual side a bit to focus on the principles of composition.

Institutions must not police the language use; they must at best document changes. The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language is a handy example. It observes the way people use the English language and updates the social conventions of language use and new coinages. Languages change with time; new words are coined, new ways of expression are accepted, and new uses for old forms are invented.

When scientists declared that Pluto was no longer a planet, the noun Pluto saw a functional shift, that is, the noun was now repurposed to act as a verb as well. Then, to be plutoed was to get demoted or devalued.

Are we willing such daring in our language? I mean, simply, can we perhaps not mind, say, jigs as an adjective in daily interactions despite its plebeian origin in the peccadillo of the millennials? English, seen as Dzongkha’s threat, is what it is not because of the hubris of sticklers who burn with indignation when you end a sentence with a preposition or attempt boldly to split an infinitive. It is a product of evolution, instead.

Without serious initiatives to create literature and endear the language to the younger generation, token gestures and exhortations will only cast Dzongkha as a pampered child of overbearing parents. We want others to appreciate our kid, admire her eloquence, and be awed by her cleverness while locking her up in her room all the time, lest she should ingest dirt and pick slang on the street. But it’s the street where you’ll ingest starlight, too.

Contributed by

Benu, Australia

Yangyel Lhaden

Residents of South Thimphu were elated upon hearing the news of water supply restoration after many days. However, their happiness was short-lived as the water pipe burst again within 24 hours when the thromde attempted to release water two days ago. This incident has prolonged the residents’ struggle with the ongoing water issue.

South Thimphu residents have been without water since last Friday. A landslide, triggered by incessant rain, washed away portions of two pipes that supply water from the Chamgang water source.

These pipes supply water to the Changbangdu, Lungtenphu, Olakha, Changzamtog, and Babesa areas.

Water pipe burst site

Day before yesterday, after fixing the broken pipes and constructing reinforced cement concrete (RCC) around the damaged pipe to protect it from the elements, the thromde office tried releasing water from the 350-millimetre (mm) water pipe. However, another crack occurred near the first damage site in the 350mm pipe yesterday. The thromde is now fixing the pipe again.

“We were able to supply water to some parts of Changzamtog, Olakha, Changjalu, and Lungtenphu through the 350 mm water pipe,” a thromde official said. “We did not release water from the 250 mm pipe because we feared that releasing water from both pipes together could break the newly formed RCC due to the enormous water pressure.”

However, the official, said that since the whole adjacent area was affected by the landslide, even while releasing water from 350mm pipe had caused further cracks. “We are working on to fixing this pipe which will take less than 24 hours and we plan to release water today.”

The 250mm pipe serves water to Changbangdu, Changzamtok, and some parts of Babesa. Babesa is also fed with Royal Thimphu College (RTC) water source which is why only some parts of Babesa, which is supplied water by 250mm pipe of Chamgang water source is affected.

The Thimphu thromde office notified the public yesterday through a public notification on their social media page, apologising to the public for the disheartening news that the 350 mm pipe had burst again. They assured the public that the pipe would be fixed within the next 24 hours. In the meantime, they are providing tanker services to all affected areas without a specific time limit.

“To ensure we provide less inconvenience to the public and enhance the water supply, we have hired water tanks from the Royal Bhutan Police and Royal Bhutan Army, bringing our total water tank fleet to five,” a Thimphu thromde official said.

The affected residents are advised to call tanker service at 17310510