Letters to the editor

On Vehicle Quota

Dear Sir,

I was unhappy on learning that our Members of Parliament have no ceiling limit on vehicle quotas. Though there are laws preventing the selling of quota since 2000 as your papers article pointed out it did little to deter both MPs and civil servants.

With the latest tax hikes and no limit quotas for MPs our MPs have become overnight millionaires who can sell their quota for millions or buy an expensive vehicle tax free and sell it for a huge profit. When there are limits and taxes on everyone it is only fair that our MPs should also have some ceiling. I would recommend a ceiling of Nu 1.6 mn which is double of the limit of civil servants and not the unlimited one right now.

Under the current quota MPs can even import the world’s most expensive cars by using business connections or friends for huge profits and at the cost of the exchequer.

What also makes me wonder as a private sector person is, what was the point of bringing about high vehicle taxes if you are anyhow going to reinstate civil service vehicle quotas?

It was already identified by the government in the past that one of the reasons for the rupee crunch was the imports of vehicles which included quota vehicles. From the news we read the bulk of the car orders so far have been placed by civil servants using their quota.

Our civil servants and public servants in general seem to be a spoiled lot who consume most of the state resources and give us little to be happy or satisfied by way of public services.

In the end I would recommend either not having any exceptions or bringing down the taxes for all and sundry.

Norbu Tshering, Thimphu

 

Thimphu’s overflowing sewage

Dear Sir,

I would like to bring your paper’s attention to the problem of Thimphu’s bursting sewage pipes and overflowing sewage drains which is a problem throughout the year.

It is both disgusting and embarrassing to travel through the main traffic to see human waste oozing out of the ground and flooding the main street.

It is also a matter of concern that the waste seems to be coming from the same manhole almost every few weeks but the City is not doing much about it except for some stop gap arrangements.

I think that this is not only a sewage issue but a health one as a lot of people and vehicles use that road. There are also several restaurants and eating establishments nearby.

The City by not taking any long term measures is exposing the heart of Thimphu town to a health hazard.

This is the problem in other parts of Thimphu where one can see sewage and human waste flowing freely on the roads including of all places near the hospital.

It is high time that all the authorities from the City Corporation to the government should get a lid on the issue.

Tshering Dema , A concerned citizen