On 3 April, the National Speaker, Jigme Tshultim gave a speech on the workings of a democracy and how laws  have been implemented and enacted so far. The meeting was held at the Dzongkhag Tshogdu hall at Damphu, Tsirang.  It was attended by Dzongkhag sector heads, Gewog Administration Officers (GAO), …

All the Gewog Administration Officers (GAO) are collecting literacy rate data of the age group 13 years and above. It started on 16 April and is being done in all the gewogs of Tsirang. By the end of the month the data has to be submitted to the Ministry of Education (MoE). “We visit each gewog and we try …

Radio in Bhutan has come a long way when with just a table, three chairs and a transmitter rented from a local telegraph office in Thimphu, the first radio station of Bhutan was formed by a voluntary group of youths known as the National Youth Association of Bhutan (NYAB) on 11 Nov, 1973. The initial broadcasts were news and …

A Renewable Natural Resource (RNR) office construction is underway at Pasarling gewog right below the gewog office. The works started three months ago and will end in May. A budget of Nu 1.7 mn was allocated for it. “The site is not the right one for a RNR office but …

What’s new in the market? Online shopping! Online business is already thriving in most other parts of the world, and the trend is fast catching up in Bhutan, too. It has made shoppers’ lives easier and more convenient. People do not have to make an effort to go to the …

A fence and a wall around the gup’s office  are under construction for almost two months now and 70% of the work is completed. Recently, the construction of a meeting hall was also completed.  Currently, a Lam’s residence is being built in the same gewog.  “A new Lam will soon …

Self regulation was one of the means suggested by the tourism stakeholders  such as members of the Association of Bhutanese Tour Operators (ABTO) and Tourism Council of Bhutan (TCB) along with several tour operators   in a consultative meeting held  yesterday on how undercutting could be curbed. “This means that each …

Undercutting is being practiced widely in the tourism industry with tour operators offering their clients cheaper rates than the fixed tourist tariff of USD 250 per head during peak season and USD 200 per head during off season. Tour operators are supposed to offer only 10% discount which means that …

Should there be a quota system for women in governance and politics? This is an issue on which  the debate continues in Bhutan. The Bhutanese talked to a number of people from different  walks of life – both male and female. And got an interesting array of  answers but the …

  Sonam Choden / Thimphu Bhutan reportedly received 64,028 high-end visitors in 2011 – the highest arrivals in so far. The figure shows the country almost achieved its target to bring 65,000 tourists in the year, with a growth of 56.65% over 2010. Of the 64,028 visitors, 47,610 were the …