The Bhutanese Leading the way.
Prime Minister Jigmi Y. Thinley last week along with some of the cabinet ministers joined the residents of Thimphu to celebrate the Diwali festival which was organized in Youth Development Fund (YDF) hall.
The program began with the lighting of butter lamps by the honorable chief guest Lyonchhen Jigmi Y Thinley.
More than 1500 people joined in the celebrations and excitement was a contagious bug of laughter and lively commotion in the hall.
The furniture for the celebrations was provided by the Department of National Properties (DNP) office on hire and the budget allocated was Nu 60,000 which was a committee collection collected by the organizers.
“It was collective and voluntary teamwork to organize a grand festival without much struggle in collecting the required budget,” chairman Krishna Kumar Gurung said.
The information and communications minister, Nanda Lal Rai and Education Minister Thakur S. Powdyel joined the prime minister in witnessing the various programs presented by organizers.
Staffs from various agencies like the Road Safety and Transport Authority (RSTA), City Corporation, Education ministry and Health sectors across the country performed southern Bhutanese dances and songs dedicated to the goddess of wealth Lakshmi.
This year the festival was organized by a team which consisted of members from all 20 dzongkhags across the country.
National Assembly MPs Hemant Gurung and Sonam Dorji donated Nu 10,000 each to mark the Diwali festival. The organizers themselves made contributions of Nu 3,000 each with infrastructure support from DNP, Thimphu.
The total amount collected from the organizers and donors was Nu 60,000 which was spent for the celebration.
Sonam Wangmo
