DEMOCRACY IN ACTION

Starting tomorrow, our land borders will be sealed. We are compelled to take this drastic measure in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. As you have been made aware through various government bulletins, the virus is spreading, causing immense disruption worldwide, and drawing closer to us each day. At such a …

A week is a long time in these COVID-19 times and this is what was exactly proven when Bhutan was sent scrambling as it on 25th March first learnt that a 54-year-old Hong Kong tourist who was in Bhutan from 3rd to 12th March tested positive for the virus on 22rd March and …

With the ban on tourism and movement of labour into Bhutan, one of the biggest dangers of the COVID-19 entering into Bhutan are those Bhutanese coming in form COVID-19 affected countries and hiding their travel history to escape the quarantine process. The Prime Minister a few days ago talked about …

432 are coming back for now As of 31 December 2019, a total of 3,930 students are studying abroad. As per the data maintained by MoE, there are 821 scholarship students funded by Department of Adult and Higher Education (DAHE), 107 students funded by Youth Welfare Education Organization (YWEO), 26 …

Most shopkeepers and entertainment hubs report a drastic fall in business, especially in the last weekend when the first COVID-19 detection in Bhutan and business has not been the same since. Shopkeepers said that despite being at odds in the general people ratio, they still had to open the shops …

Help and support are pouring in from people within Bhutan and from international organization as well, as Bhutan copes with COVID-19. There are people in various dzongkhags that have offered their houses and hotels as quarantine space. And some groups have donated money to cope with the ongoing work to …

With the government announcing a two-week ban on entry of tourists after an 76-year-old American tourist tested positive on march 5th the tourism season has closed for now. Bhutan prior to that ban received a total of of 5,784 tourists from 74 countries around the world from January 2020 to …

The National Assembly (NA) through majority show of hands repealed Section 8 on the Exemption of Tourism Levy and deciding to levy the Sustainable Development Fee (SDF) in all 20 dzongkhags. During the deliberation, the House felt that exemption of Tourism Levy for the listed dzongkhags would not benefit in …

Two thousand two hundred prayer flags (Lung-Dhar) have been hoisted and dedicated to His Majesty The King on His 40th Birth Anniversary on the road leading to the Buddha Dordenma statue at Kuenselphodrang and Sangaygang, Thimphu. Of the total, 1,850 flags were raised between the road junction at Hindu Mandir …

The members of the Natural Resources and Environment Committee (NREC) presented the interim review report on the Renewable Natural Resources (RNR) Marketing Policy to the House. Although RNR Marketing Policy is in place, there are challenges that impede the operation and performance of the RNR sector, in terms of the …