Human-wildlife conflict

Human wild life conflict has always been a problem for far flung areas where there is no electricity and road connectivity.

“Five households have lost five acres of maize to Wild boar,”  said  Gup Nidup. He said, he is not sure as to where to lodge a complaint with regard to this.

“There is nothing we can do when such losses are upon us,” he said. “It is plantation time and people will be busy in the fields, so they do not get time to guard their crops at night.”

The gewog has decided on many measures to prevent wild life conflict, but in the end all things failed and the main reason for it were the remoteness and the wilderness.

The Gup said that half of the crops are always lost to wild animals and there is no prevention other than guarding, which at times is difficult.

Shingkhar gewog is two and half days walk from the nearest road point and the Gewog has a population of 8000.

The urban drift has however reduced the number to only 3500 people.

 

Disappearing worms could deprive Lingzhips of a big source of income

The Cordyceps collectors in Lingzhi under Thimphu dzongkhag are concerned about their next picking when the worms are lessening within their reach.

The places like Deauri, Taki and Reza in Lingzhi, a day’s walk from human settlement have completed picking the worms and the highlanders now have to wait for five years to initiate digging for the worms.

“Next year we will have to travel to another place hunting for the worms,” Karma Dorji, 51 from Lingzhi said. Adding that the place where they hunted for the worms for the last few years have now exhausted.

The highlanders travel and cross minimum of five passes in a day to reach the collection site and the next coming season they will have to travel even further to find the quality worms.

“My collection this time was less and the quality was also low compared to last year.” Yeshi Peday, 25 from Lingzhi Gangyoe said.

She said that the decline in the number of the worms is evident from the quality and the quantity of the worms they collect each year.

Some places in Lingzhi would remain idle for five years starting next year.

(Tanden Zangmo)

 

Draft of 11th five year plan

The 11th five year plan draft includes 11 Rural Water Supply Schemes (RWSS), eight km irrigation channels, 27 kms of farm roads and other minor activities for development of the gewog.

Along with the drafting of the five year plan, construction works of schools are underway and is expected to be completed within this financial year. Construction of a Community School for more than 100 students is yet to complete.

In the meantime construction of dining hall, laboratory and quarter for matron and warden for Gongthung Middle Secondary School are underway.

(Tashi Deki)

 

Local Vets train to control Dogs and Dog diseases

A training program was been held in Wangchang for the local veterinarians on dog spaying and campaigns on anti-rabies measures.

Under the initiative of the Department of Livetock an NGO called the Humane Society based in India was invited for the purpose.

As part of the program the officials from the Humane Society in collaboration with the officials from livestock department visited various areas in the country to spay canines and vaccinate them to prevent rabies and other canine related diseases.

The gewog administration officials in Paro said this initiative is crucial not only to prevent canine related diseases but also to control the dog population in Paro.

However some of the villagers in Lango gewog said that a series of mysterious canine deaths has troubled them for a while.

Although no official complains has been received but officials at the livestock department say it is not an epidemic of any sort that could prove fatal to other livestock.

(Yeshey Tshewang)